


Digimon: All You wanted

by WaterDragon88



Category: Digimon Adventure
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 53,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterDragon88/pseuds/WaterDragon88
Summary: Plagued by her past, HG finds herself at camp only to be hurled into a world with strange creatures called digimon. Is her future in danger of being swallowed up by her past?
Relationships: Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida/Original Female Character(s)





	1. And so it begins...

**I thank TheSadMachine, TKNRKRGaim, Black Cat Angel and DecemberSilentvale for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.**

**And so it begins...**

_All I wanted...was to be left alone. I wanted to be alone, so I could forget. I needed time to learn to cope with what happened. Escaping to nature seemed like a good idea at the time. However, there were forces out there that had a different agenda. Forcing me into the rambunctious group and setting us all off on an adventure of a lifetime._

_But, I'm getting a little ahead of myself._

_It all started with the Earth. The planet we call home, spinning around in space. At the time when it all began, weather patterns were going haywire, along with drastic climate changes around the world. There were deserts, places you expect to be hot, covered in water! Places becoming part of the ocean. Rainforests were dried out. Towns that were supposed to be enjoying summer, their citizens were bundling up like it was the middle of December._

_I knew nothing about these events at the time, like I said, I had escaped to nature. I had gone camping with seven other kids. Most of us were strangers, though I noticed there were two brothers together._

_Most of the others were playing and enjoying themselves, though one boy was sitting up in a tree taking a nap._

_I didn't think anything was odd until it started snowing in the middle of July! The first to notice was the boy in the tree, a snowflake landing on his face and waking him up. Oh, I forgot, that's Tai._

'Tai Kamiya' He had brown hair, brown eyes, and goggles strapped down on his head.

'Sora Takenouchi' Next was a girl with light brown hair, same colored eyes, and a blue hat on her head. 'This is Sora, she seems like a big sister.'

'Matt Ishida' A boy with dirty blonde hair that seemed to defy gravity a little, and he had blue eyes. "That's Matt. He's actually really cool."

'Izzy Izumi' He had red hair, dark brown nearly black eyes, and a laptop sitting on his lap. "And this is Izzy, he's always playing on his computer."

'Mimi Tachikawa' She had light brown hair, brown eyes, and wore a pink dress, and a light pink cowgirl hat. "That's Mimi, she always dresses in pink."

'TK Takaishi' He had dirty blonde hair like his brother, and blue eyes. He wore a green hat with a blue spot in the middle. "TK is Matt's little brother, and the same age as me."

'Joe Kido' He had blue hair that was slightly spiky and black eyes. "Joe acts like a complete scaredy-cat, and he's the oldest of us."

'HG' Then there's me. I'm the kid with the hoodie and lavender eyes peeking out to see what in the world was going on. Call me, HG. At the time, I really didn't talk to anyone at camp, and didn't plan to for the rest of it. That is until a blizzard came out of nowhere. Now no one would want to go swimming after this.

The adults got most of the others to safety, but in my group, Joe, Tai, and Sora helped get me and the other four kids into a warm, dry spot to wait until the storm stopped.

From a small shrine/cabin thing came Tai as he checked out what the storm had done. "The canoe races are canceled, so let's have toboggan races instead." Tai exclaimed and TK came running out from behind him.

"I'm gonna build the biggest snowman ever!" He cheered.

"Hey TK be careful," His brother called as he raced after him.

"It's so cold, and I didn't bring a jacket." Sora said as she gripped her arms and shivered slightly.

"I was worried I'd catch a summer cold, but this is even worse." Joe complained as he came out, Mimi close behind.

"Wow, I should have packed my fluffy pink snow boots." Mimi said as she went out as well and looked at the snow in wonder.

"Ah man, still not working, bummer" Izzy said. "This storm is messing up my infrared internet connection."

"Hey what's your names, Izzy, HG come out here, you've gotta see this." Tai called from outside. As they came out, colorful lights danced in the sky.

"It's beautiful! Magical even!" Mimi replied with beaming admiration.

"Yeah, but what is it?" Izzy asked.

"Maybe an aurora?" Sora offered.

"You mean an Aurora Borealis, the northern lights? That's impossible, you see that in Alaska! We're way too far south," Izzy pointed out.

"Tell that to the snow," Sora commented.

"I really think we oughta go back inside before we all come down with pneumonia," Joe replied nervously.

"And miss this?" Matt asked. "The sky is like short circuiting!"

The Aurora Borealis wavered once more and only this time, I was able to spot a green orb peeking from beneath the colors.

"Hey, what's that?" Tai asked.

Bright light speared from the center and channeled numerous red orbs that sailed from the center, crashing into the space at their feet. When the objects crashed so much snow expanded in the air, temporarily blinding us.

"Everyone are you alright?" Sora asked.

"We're still here," replied Matt, when he was helping his little brother up.

"That was scary!" Mimi gasped.

"What. What was it?" Joey asked with shock in his voice.

"Meteors?" Izzy wondered, nearing the area where the object closest to him hit.

"Okay so it's not meteors," Izzy corrected himself.

A light sprouted from the small crater where the object hit and carefully I approached it to see a strange device floating from it. My small hands close over the item, taking hold of it.

"What...are these?" Sora asked, looking at her device.

"My guess is some sort of miniature digital apparatus?" Izzy guessed.

"No instructions?" Matt questioned.

Suddenly, we all noticed something before us at the cliff when waves suddenly pulled up.

"Forget the instructions! Surf's up!" Tai shouted as we all screamed, the waves then suddenly parting as all eight of us were sucked in, screaming.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to find myself staring back at bright red gleaming eyes. In reaction, I pulled myself away from the gaze and flatted myself against a tree behind me to get away from it. The creature found itself reacting the same way and gasped to gain a great distance. Now that I could get a good look at it, I was able to try to figure out what it was.

The small creature had a rather soft white exterior that reminded her of a dandelion. As well as a leaf like appendage that stood out from its behind establishing that it was its tail.

"What...are you?" I asked, my voice soft. The little creature shifted at the question before answering.

"A digimon, I'm Popomon," it replied quietly.

"I'm HG," I introduced myself.

The sound of TK giggling, took both our attention and sure enough he had been following a small white piglet-like creature.

"Come here, Tokomon!" TK laughed as he started chasing it around and around in circles.

"TK, you shouldn't run off like that!" Matt emerged not too long after with a creature of his own in his arm. This digimon had a white face and round cheeks but then the rest of its body was a light brown type of fur. It's large eyes were a honey brown and it had a large dark horn attached to its head.

"Oh, Popomon!" The digimon in Matt's arm seemed to recognize the small white digimon. In response, Popomon perked up a bit before turning to look back up at the digimon.

"Hello, Tsunomon," Popomon answered back.

Matt looked to see that I was sitting nervously against a tree. He approached me casually and smiled down at me.

"Here, let me help you up," he offered his hand to help me back on my feet.

In response, I attempted to look up but shyly attempted to force my hood down to hide the deep red blush that darted across my face. I reached up to take his hand and he pulled me up without much effort.

"You ok?" Matt checked, earning a nod, "C'mon. We need to find the others."

"Thank you," I responded quietly. Before Matt could reply back, he spotted his little brother chasing Tokomon deeper into the woods.

"Wait! TK!" he called out. He followed after his brother and so did I. My digimon followed closely behind me and soon we managed to find Tai and the others.

"Tokomon! There you are!" he laughed as he continued to reach for his digimon.

"TK!" Matt yelled closely behind him.

"Hey Matt!" Tai greeted him and then spotted me. "HG!"

"You guys too?" Tai asked.

I arched an eyebrow in confusion for a moment. Then turned to look behind me to see Popomon gasp and hide behind my pant leg. The digimon shyly peeked from behind my leg to see the others.

"Yeah," Matt answered. "We're here too,"

"No, I meant that under your arm!" Tai corrected himself.

"Oh," Matt raised an eyebrow before looking down at Tsunomon. "This guy? Yeah...well."

Tsunomon gazed politely at them as its cheeks turned a soft pink. "Hello, you appear pleasant. Tsunomon is my name and I am quite pleased to meet you."

Tai bent down a bit to see if he could spot the small digimon hiding behind me.

"I'm...Popomon," it replied.

"We're not the only one to get these creatures as partners," Izzy realized as I saw a few other pink blobs nearby.

Tokomon brushed his cheek against TK's, causing him to laugh out loud in response. Joe's scream in the distance caused them all to turn in the direction he was coming from. We saw him running down a path from the forest to see that he was desperately trying to avoid something. Such fear filled his eyes. His screams can frightened a group of toddlers; he ran as if Death was on his tail. Then again... this is Joe we're talking about here.

"Joe?" Tai asked.

"Help me!" he yelled. He stopped to catch a breath as he lowered his head to squeeze his eyes shut. "This thing...this thing...It won't leave me alone!" yup, called it.

"Hey," a voice spoke up. "Who are you calling a thing?"

A grey digimon popped up from behind Joe's shoulder and he answered.

"I'm no stuffed animal! The name is Bukamon!" It replied proudly. A bright red flame-like mohawk resembled its hair and instead of hands the little guy had flippers.

Joe continued to scream and Bukamon only laughed at his reaction. Joe then stopped to look at the others in shock.

"What's wrong with you guys? Don't you see this creature hanging off me? And those creatures standing right there!" Joe cried, referring to the group of digimon. "They're...they're everywhere! What are they?!"

"We're," Bukamon began to announce as he hovered free from Joe's shoulder and into the crowd of Digimon. Popomon took the chance to quickly regroup with the others as well as the other digimon.

"Digimon!" they all cried in unison. "Digital monsters!"

"Digital monsters?" Tai asked.

"Yes, Digimon!" the eight declared in unison again, before giving us a chance to process.

"We're not just digital monsters! We're much more than that!" Koromon declared. "We're kinda cute!"

"And..." Tsunomon added "Very loyal!"

"With beautiful hair!" Yokomon claimed, flaunting the blue petals that sprouted from her head.

"Or maybe no hair at all!" Motimon continued.

"We can be funny!" Bukamon said while waving his flipper. "Ha!"

"Not to mention shy," Popomon replied politely.

"And adorable!" Tokomon finished.

"It's a pleasure to meet each of you!" Tai answered back. "My name's Tai, and these are my friends from camp!"

He took the chance to gesture over to Sora.

"I'd like you to meet Sora!" he greeted.

Sora tucked her hands behind her back before saying anything. "Nice place you got here. Except for the bugs."

Now Tai gestured over to Matt to introduce him.

"And the self proclaimed cool one over there is Matt,"

"No autographs, please" Matt replied casually, with hands tucked in his front pockets.

"And this is Joe," Tai said, gesturing to him.

"I'd shake hands with you, if you had any," he replied nervously.

"And Izzy here is our computer expert," Tai continued.

"Do you have internet access?" he asked. The digimon didn't respond to that.

"This is HG, he's sorta quiet." Tai explained.

"He?" Popomon asked, confusion etched into the small digimon's face. "HG is a girl, even I knew that."

Tai was the only one to react completely shocked as he gaped.

"What? Is that true?" he asked, completely stunned.

I gave a curt nod of approval.

"Sorry," he apologized while scratching his head nervously.

I simply shook my head and told him it was okay.

"Well... right," Tai began, clearing his throat, "And last, but not least. This little guy over here is... um..."

"TK. Call me TK. And I'm not as small as I look," TK answered.

"There, now. Is that everyone?"

"Hey what happened to that girl with the funny pink hat?" Sora asked.

"Now, now," Tai attempted to calm her down. "her name is Mimi."

"Perhaps she's off picking flowers," Izzy offered. "Or going on a nature hike."

Another scream took our attention as we turned to hear Mimi's voice. Her scream of terror almost rivaled Joe. Almost.

"Ah! Somebody help me!"

We all sprinted towards the voice.

"Okay, so she's not picking flowers," Izzy corrected himself.

"Mimi!" Tai called out to her "Where are you?"

When he called for her, Mimi was rushing out of a path from the forest. She was screaming for help while sprinting in a hurry. The little green digimon beside her was in a hurry too as if something was following them.

"It's okay Mimi!" Tai assured.

The sight of Mimi running towards us startled us as the cry of Kuwagamon made them all alert.

"It's that big bug again!" Tai gasped. Sure enough the Kuwagamon was back in the sky but it soared high again in the air.

Now that she felt safe, Mimi fell to her knees from the fear and exhaustion.

"Mimi are you alright?" Tanemon asked her.

"I think so," Mimi said with eyes closed.

"Don't worry, Tanemon is here to protect you!" her digimon assured her.

"It's okay now," Sora assured, rushing to Mimi's side.

"Oh, Sora..." Mimi uttered before the big bug started flying back.

"Not Kuwagamon again!" Popomon panicked.

"Watch it! Here it comes!" Tai alerted.

"Run!" Sora shouted.

We all found ourselves fleeing from the Kuwagamon that was snapping its pincers at our feet. I kept my eyes forward, not daring to glance back at the angry red beetle chasing us.

"Down!" Matt ordered.

Once it passed and pulled itself up high in the air, we all sat up.

"When will this nightmare never end?" Joey asked. Behind him a severed tree branch hit the ground prompting him to wince in response. "My mom is gonna want a complete and total refund!"

"Here he comes again!" Tanemonmon called out.

"Okay, that does it!" Tai snapped as he stood up to look at us, "No more running away!"

"What else can we do?" Sora asked.

"She's right," Matt agreed, holding TK, "There's no way we can fight that thing!"

"Not and win, anyway," Izzy countered as we all fled, soon stopping at a cliff.

"Great. Anybody bring a helicopter?" Matt groaned as Tai and I went closer to the edge and looked down.

"Be careful, you two!" Sora called out before Tai turned back.

"There's no way down," he noted, "We're going to have to find another way."

"Another way where?"

Before more words were said, the trees shifted behind us as Kuwagamon barged out and roared.

This caused us all to jump out of the way, barely able to get away in time. Tai was able to dodge by dropping to his knees and squeezing his eyes shut. The Kuwagamon spotted them and redirected its course towards them, ready to take its prey.

"Watch out Tai!" Sora yelled. Koromon hurled its tiny little body at Kuwagamon before throwing a rather large pink bubble at its face.

"Here I go!" Koromon cried.

When the pink bubble ruptured against its head, Koromon hit the ground from mere exhaustion but was unable to halt the Kuwagamon.

"Digimon attack!" Yokomon declared. All of the small digimon leapt forward and hurled overwhelming forces of their own pink bubbles. In result, they were able to shift its course and send it crashing into the tree limbs behind them.

"Yokomon!" Sora rushed to her digimon's side to pick her up.

"Koromon..." Tai said softly as he picked up the small digimon.

Soon we all went after our fallen digimon to pick them up in our arms.

Kuwagamon's screech filled the air once more as it moved dangerously towards us. The pincers of the Kuwagamon opened and closed menacingly at us, giving us a preview of what was to come.

"Get back!" Tai yelled.

We all grabbed our digimon before running to the next safest place which was the cliff at the moment.

"I was hoping we'd see the last of him!" Sora yelled.

"Me too! I guess he had other plans, huh?" Tai said.

Forcefully the earth trembled beneath us as Kuwagamon was slowly approaching us than desired.

"I knew I should've brought my bug spray," Matt groaned.

I rolled my eyes at that. Somehow, I thought that wouldn't be enough.

"Everyone. Get ready to run!" Tai said, bracing himself and expecting the rest of us to do so as well. As the brown-haired boy was shifting himself to move, his digimon Koromon had decided enough was enough.

"No, we fight," Koromon realized, shocking the others, "That's right. It's the only way. We stand and fight."

"Give it up, will you?" Tai retorted.

"No, Koromon's right! It's time that we show what we're made of!" Motimon retorted, trying to worm his way out of Izzy's grip.

"No, don't!" Izzy shouted.

"They're right!" Yokomon added.

"No way! It's hopeless! You're no match for him, Yokomon," Sora insisted as Kuwagamon got closer.

"We can do it. Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go!" Tsunomon insisted, trying to break free from Matt's grasp.

"We can do it, we can do it!" Tokomon added, doing the same from TK.

"Let me go, let me go, let go!" Bukamon pleaded with Joe.

"Tanemon, you too?" Mimi asked of Tanemon, despite her not resisting.

"Uh huh!" the bud Digimon nodded.

"Please," Popmon urged. "I have to try like the others!" He tried with all his might to free himself from my arms.

"I'm sorry, Tai," Koromon apologized before he and the other Digimon leaped out of our arms and charged at Kuwagamon. It was terrifying to watch. How can a group of small monsters stand up to a monster five times their size? Prey against predator. The bug digimon has the height, muscles, and experience compare to the smaller creatures. Everyone wanted nothing more than to take their new friends and run but trapped in a corner, how can they?

I stood there for a minute, then walked in front of them.

"HG? What are you even doing?" Tai and Sora gawked.

"I don't know why, but something tells me they need us to be there for them so they can fight. Couldn't we try to believe in them more?" I should be with them as well, telling Popomon it's useless. But I didn't. I saw something in them, especially Popomon. They be cute and cuddly as they are, but there's something special about them.

No one seemed to understand me at first as the Digimon looked ready to fight.

"Come on, digimon!" Koromon shouted before they all leaped away.

"It's useless! Yokomon!" Sora pleaded.

"Don't go! Motimon!" Izzy shouted.

"No, wait! Don't do it, Tsunomon!" Matt called out.

"Don't go!" TK begged.

"Turn around! Come back, Bukamon!" Joe shouted.

"Tanemon. Be careful!" Mimi pleaded.

"No! Don't, Koromon!" Tai shouted, trying to chase after.

"Try your best, Popomon!" I called out.

"Koromon, come back!" Tai shouted again, only for all of our Digivices to glow and emit a strong beam of light. Amazed gasps could be heard from each of us as we watched each of our digimon become illuminated by the rainbow colored beam that floated over them.

"Koromon digivolve to Agumon!" Koromon was now replaced with a small stout dinosaur-type digimon. It's head and snout appeared so large and disproportionate to the rest of its amber orange skinned body. The most distinguishable trait, happened to be its piercing green eyes.

"Yokomon digivolve to Biyomon!" The small pink turnip type digimon was now morphed into a slightly larger form of pink bird. Parts of its wings were grown to look like arms. It had a glossy orange beak and vibrant blue eyes as well as blue patterns that reached in the back of its feathers and one blue pattern curled around the feather that was placed atop its head.

"Motimon digivolve to Tentomon!" In Motimon's place stood an insect-like digimon. It was complete with a hard red shell and all and yellow wavy antennae as well.

"Tsunomon digivolve to Gabumon!" Gabumon appeared to be another reptilian type digimon but it still maintained a horn atop its head only it did not carry the same slight arch. This digimon carried a white and blue striped pelt that covered most of its face from everyone else.

"Tokomon digivolve to Patamon!" Patamon remained quite plump like its original form but this time its eyes were a bright blue and its ears were in the shape of large wings. Its back seemed to be dipped in a soft orange color while the space beneath its mouth and stomach were white.

"Bukamon digivolve to Gomamon!" Bukamon still carried the seal-like traits like before, but now its fur was of a white shade. Purple markings peeked out of its white fur here and there. The sea-foam green eyes that it carried only made the red fur that was growing along the back to the top of its head appear that was much brighter.

"Tanemon digivolve to Palmon!" Tanemon changed into what appeared to be some sort of plant. The large pink flower atop its head resembled its hair and its legs were roots. They did little to hide the large abyss like color within its eyes.

"Popomon digivolve to Frimon!" The small dandelion digimon was replaced with a cat-like face with large brown eyes, the leaf appendage changed into a furry tail. The most noticeable feature, however, was the large yellow frill that extended from his neck. Oh wow. They're not tiny! They've grown! They are grown up in a mist of a few minutes. Talk about puberty.

"Look at them! What's happened to the little guys?" Sora asked in amazement.

"They're...bigger," Tai said carefully.

The Digimon then all rushed in in an attempt to tackle and pin down Kuwagamon, but the bug knocked them off.

"Alright then!" Agumon yelled, rebounding back from the impact. "You asked for it!"

The Kuwagamon was about to take flight once more only to be pulled down from strange vegetation that latched on its foot. It seemed to extend from the small green digimon that digivolved only moments ago.

"POISON IVY!" Palmon called.

"BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon declared. He sucked in enough air to fill his small but powerful lungs before hurling it back to the Kuwagamon. When it hit, the Kuwagamon staggered from the force of the compressed air.

"SUPER SHOCKER!" Tentomon declared, sending a powerful electrical charge at its unprotected face.

With perfected timing, Gomamon slipped right under its foot before it could take a step forward. In effect Gomamon was able to send the Kuwagamon down to its knee.

"PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon shouted before firing a large fireball at it.

"BLUE BLASTER!" Blue flames slipped from Gabumon's mouth and hit directly at the Kuwagamon that still towered over them.

"SPIRAL TWISTER!" Biyomon formed a large green spiral of flames to injure it.

"TAIL WHIP!" Frimon propelled himself forward with a quick bounce of his tail. The pincers missed in catching Frimon as he reeled back his tail to slam it against the shell of the oversized insect's head, sending it knocking back from the force.

Angrily, the Kuwagamon forced itself to stand upright.

"Now! All together!" Agumon ordered. Their attacks combined set the Kuwagamon's head on fire and even as it disappeared, crashing into the forest, the smoke billowed up high from its injured head.

"They made vaporware out of him!" Izzy gaped.

"Amazing!" Tai awed.

"I can't believe it..." I gasped.

"Watch out!" Sora warned.

In the nick of time, Tai and Agumon were both able to evade the crushing power of its arm just before it split a bit of the ground into crumbled pieces.

"Guess we celebrated too soon!" Tai exclaimed.

The Kuwagamon could see that we were backing ourselves onto the edge of the cliff which prompted it to plunge its deadly pincers into the earth. Soon the cliff broke and we all felt the cliff slipping beneath us as we were cast to our impending doom below.

**If anyone with good grammar wants to RP or roleplay with me on this, please private message me.**


	2. The Birth of Greymon

**_I thank TKNRKRGaim, and Black Cat Angel for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me._ **

**The Birth of Greymon**

The kids and their Digimon were falling from the cliff through the air, most screaming, but those who could fly rushed down to their partners.

"Sora!" Biyomon cried out.

"Izzy!" Tentomon hollered.

"TK!" Patamon shouted as the three flying Digimon desperately grabbed onto their human friends and flew hard to keep them from falling, but the combined weight was too much, and they all continued falling.

Palmon, holding tightly to Mimi, whipped out a Poison Ivy attack, clinging to a rock jutting from the cliff face. However, the rock came loose from the wall, and followed Palmon and Mimi as they fell. Gomamon and Joe were the first to hit the water below.

"MARCHING FISHES!" Gomamon called out as around him, hundreds of fish surfaced and swam together, forming a floating raft which picked Joe out of the water and caught the others as they landed.

"Wow. This is some ride!" Tai heaved.

They heard a rumbling from above as Matt looked up to the cliff from before.

"What? Hey, look out!" Matt shouted as Kuwagamon fell from the cliff, boulders crumbled down as the kids all screamed out of shock and fear.

"GET GOING~!" Gomamon hollered, the fish raft moving faster when Kuwagamon splashed down, making huge waves while the kids held tightly to the fish, screaming from the sudden movements.

A while later, the kids were washed up on a beach, catching their breath.

"I knew we'd be okay. I wasn't worried." Matt shrugged off, trying to keep cool when HG tugged on Matt's glove.

"I heard you scream pretty loudly back there," she muttered, Matt looking shocked as HG then covered her face in her hood. Oh man, how embarrassing!

"Wh-What? I..." Matt started before looking away in embarrassment.

"Well, what was that? A floating fish market?" Joe panted, his glasses looking out of whack.

"Lucky for us, those fish were having a school reunion. Ha ha!" Gomamon jested, getting Joe's attention, "I'm kidding. Those fish are good friends of mine, and I just asked them for a lift."

"And all these years I thought I was allergic to seafood! Thank you! Uh, I guess it's not Bukamon?"

"Gomamon, now."

"Gomamon, hmm," Joe muttered.

"And I guess that you're not Tokomon, are you?" TK checked with his partner.

"Mm mm! Now I'm Patamon." The partner answered.

"It's all because we digivolved," Agumon explained to Tai.

"I don't think that word's in my dictionary," Tai admitted.

"So digivolving is what happens when they advance to the next level and become more powerful than before," Izzy deduced, "Possibly akin to a rapid form of metamorphosis."

"Right! All of us digivolved. I went from Motimon to Tentomon," the beetle near Izzy confirmed.

"I digivolved from Yokomon to Biyomon," the pink bird near Sora added.

"First, I was Tsunomon, then Gabumon," Matt's partner replied.

"And I changed from Tanemon to Palmon," the talking plant near Mimi smiled.

"And me, I was Koromon. I digivolved into Agumon," Agumon stated.

"As for me, I went Popomon to Frimon," the lion-looking crittered noted, HG looking confused.

"You know, you looked similar to the others before, but now you don't look that big," HG noted, "It's like you just got to the level the others were before."

"It's actually my first time digivolving. I couldn't keep up with the others," Frimon admitted.

"Oh, Frimon's just a late bloomer, HG. Don't worry about it," Tentomon assured, "He'll catch up soon. Without you, though, he'd have been stuck as Popomon."

"Me? What did I do?"

"That's right," Biyomon nodded.

"You all helped us digivolve," Gomamon noted.

"Mmm hmmm," Tai nodded, still unsure, "When you digivolved, you certainly got way bigger. Does this mean you're something different now, or are you still digimon?"

"Digimon. But I needed your help, Tai," Agumon answered.

"Me? For what?"

"You see, digivolving is a very difficult process. In order to be successful, I had to share your energy."

"Really?"

"So that's how you changed," HG realized, with Frimon nodding in response.

"I guess you guys don't run on batteries," Sora noted.

"Sure don't," Biyomon smiled.

"But how do you access my energy?" Izzy questioned.

"Even we don't know everything," Tentomon admitted.

"Thanks for my magical power!" Palmon beamed.

"The whole thing makes my head spin," Mimi sighed with her head on her hand.

"So, I helped you change! That's so cool!" T.K noted. with a smile.

"Yep, sure is," Patamon nodded.

"My folks warned me about strangers," Joe randomly muttered.

"I'm not a stranger, Joe. I'm your friend for life!" Gomamon countered.

"I never really had a friend before," HG muttered as Frimon hopped on her head.

"I can be yours," he smiled.

"Thanks," HG smiled back.

"Okay, come on! What are we going to do?" Matt inquired.

"If only there was a payphone nearby. We could call the police, or fire department, or my mother," Joe muttered aloud. Would there be a payphone there?

"But we don't even know where we are!" Tai pointed out.

"But we know where we started. Up there on that mountain!" Sora reminded them.

"I say we forget about going back and explore around here," Matt suggested.

"I'd kinda like to see what else is out here," HG admitted with a slight smile. She wasn't used to speaking up in front of others.

"I'm not exploring anywhere. I say we stay right where we are," Joe insisted, Tai giving him a deadpan glare of sorts.

"Yeah, let's wait for that giant bug to come get us. We need to find a road leading someplace to get away from here!" Matt sarcastically added.

"Matt's right. But without a compass, we don't even know which way is north," Izzy noted.

"Wait, I do."

"Well, which way is it?"

"It's the opposite of south."

Izzy just let off an exasperated sigh in response to that.

"I shouldn't wear these pants. They ride up when I do a lot of walking," Joe muttered to himself.

"Y'know, if we could get back to where we were before, we might at least find some clues as to why we're here in this place," Sora noted.

"Wait. Are there more monsters around like that big flying beetle?" Mimi checked.

"Yes indeedy!" Palmon confirmed.

"Ick!"

"Those monsters don't scare me!" Matt scoffed.

"I sure hope not," HG muttered in response. Stupid mouth. Running her lips without thinking! What was wrong with her?

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing!" HG panicked, ducking into her hood. Mouth close, don't speak, and move on.

"...Ok... Uh... Are there humans, Agumon?" Tai checked after seeing that exchange.

"Humans? Others like you?" Agumon inquired, getting a nod from Tai, "You're the first ever. There's never been anything but Digimon here." Agumon's response threw Tai off. Did they transfer across the planet?

"So, okay. You're all Digimon. But what about these monsters? They're all Digimon, too?"

Agumon just nodded in response.

"It's creepy. And dangerous. And what happens when it gets dark?" Sora asked.

"Who says it ever gets dark here?" Matt pointed out.

"That phenomenon would be unnatural," Izzy noted.

"And you call this natural?" Joe countered.

"Well, we're not going to find out anything by sitting around here," Tai replied as he started walking, followed by Agumon.

"Where do you think you're going?" Matt inquired.

"Up on that cliff. That's where I saw the ocean."

"The ocean?"

"Yep. There might be a boat or something."

"Let's waterski home," Matt muttered sarcastically.

"Ugh, funny," Sora groaned.

"At a time like this, I think we'd be far better off just to find a cave and hide. We keep our eyes open, and when a camp counselor comes-" Joe began to ramble, not noticing something going on as his eyes were closed until-

"Hey, Joe!" Gomamon shouted, getting Joe's attention to make him realize he and Gomamon were the only ones still in the same area, "Everyone's leaving us!"

"Wait for me!"

And so the group began walking along the riverbank with Gomamon swimming in the water head above the surface, the group noting the massive variety of flora lining the side, many looking tropical in appearance, but it wasn't that clear where they came from.

"These trees are beautiful," Sora smiled.

"Yeah, they're really different. And I just thought they were subtropical," Izzu noted.

"Whatever they are, they're aggravating my hay fever," Joe groaned.

"Hey, Joe. Is there anything you don't complain about?" Matt sighed as Gabumon laughed quietly.

"Digital monsters. Exactly who came up with that name, anyhow?" Izzy muttered, trying to figure things out.

"Just call us Digimon. We like that," Tentomon assured.

"I only ask because your composition isn't at all machine-like."

"Oh, really?"

Suddenly, Tentomon let off a bunch of sparks, making Izzy flinch.

"Hey! Watch it!" the geek reacted out of shock.

"So, Patamon, can you really fly?" T.K. checked as his partner started flapping his ear-wings.

"Of course!" he nodded.

"Wow, that's cool," T.K. smiled before seeing Patamon was actually going a little slower, "But you're going the wrong way."

"I'm faster than that. Watch!" Biyomon scoffed, flying indeed faster... but still falling behind the kids.

"Wouldn't it be faster to walk? Huh?" Sora checked.

"Palmon, I've been meaning to ask, who does your hair?" Mimi inquired.

"It's natural. I wake up in the morning like this," Palmon shrugged.

"Wow! Maybe you could let me work with it!"

Palmon let off a small blush before looking back to her partner.

"Do you think you put too much emphasis on appearance?" she asked.

"Well, honestly, I've never really thought about it."

"Honestly, I kinda like my hair the way it is."

"I wonder what you'll look like when you're at their level," HG wondered about Frimon, "Probably a beautiful beast of a lion. Oh, I can just imagine you now."

"...We don't know what I'll become until later," Frimon pointed out.

"I look forward to it," HG responded.

"Once I get back, this is gonna make one great story," Tai noted.

"Yep," Agumon nodded in agreement.

"But, of course not a single soul will ever believe me," Tai sighed.

"That Kuwagamon back there... he was huge," Izzy recalled.

"And he's not the only one," Tentomon pointed out.

At that moment, HG and Gabumon took a sniff of the air.

"Hey... I smell salt water," she noticed.

"Ahh, nothing like the ocean," Gabumon smiled.

"Ahh haa!" Gomamon cheered, "Everybody in the water!"

"Hey, let's build a giant sandcastle!" TK suggested.

"Oh, I forgot my bathing suit," Mimi complained when Matt suddenly looked up.

"Wait a minute, listen! What's that?" he pointed out.

Things were quiet before they managed to hear... a ringing.

"A phone!" Tai recognized.

"Either that or we're all hearing things," Sora noted as the group looked before spotting a row of evenly spaced telephone booths.

"I told you! All we needed was a phone! We're saved!" Joe shouted as they all rushed to the phone booths, Tai managing to reach the first before opening it, and suddenly looking confused when the ringing... halted.

"Why'd it stop ringing, Tai?" Agumon asked.

"Wrong number?" Tai guessed.

"Well, that's bizarre," Sora admitted.

"My theory is aliens. They've set these phone booths out as a trap," Izzy figured.

"If we can find a place that delivers, let's order pizza!" Matt shouted out.

"Whatever you get, no anchovies for me," Mimi requested, almost gagging at the thought of the small fish.

"The question is, what are these doing here at the beach?" Sora wondered.

"So people can call their parents for a ride home!" Joe pointed out like it was obvious.

"Parents? What exactly are parents?" Gomamon asked, the kids looking at the Digimon incredulously.

"That's it. I'm outta here."

"Does anybody have any loose change?" Tai interjected.

"Why?" Izzy inquired.

"Obviously, I'm gonna make a phone call to get some help."

"Ah, use my phone card," Izzy nodded, pulling out a card from his wallet, "The aliens can bill me. Here."

"Maybe there's a quarter in one of the slots!" TK figured as he rushed to one booth.

"I'm calling Daddy!" Mimi added, rushing to a booth as well.

"I'm hooking up to the internet," Izzy muttered as all the kids walked to a booth each.

"I'm calling collect," Matt replied.

"Dibs on booth four!" Sora called out as Tai finished dialing.

"Hey guys, wait for me! Come on!" Joe panicked, trying to get to a booth of his own as the ringing stopped for Tai.

"Hello? Hey Mom, it's me!" Tai responded, but...

 _-At the tone the time will be exactly forty-five miles per hour... And ninety seconds,-_ the operator said at random. Okay... that's not weird.

"Something's wrong, or Mom's flipped."

 _-Tomorrow's forecast calls_ _for clear skies with_ _occasional ice cream,-_ Mimi's operator said. Wait, what?

"What do you wear for that?" Mimi wondered.

 _-This number only_ _exists in your imagination. Please_ _hang up_ _and_ _don't_ _call_ _back,-_ the next one stated. Rude, and again what?

"What planet did I dial?" Matt wondered.

"I'm telling you. It's a twisted alien joke," Izzy insisted.

"Why don't you try that one over there?" Tentomon suggested to Izzy, pointing to Sora's booth.

"I don't think it's any better," Biyomon pointed out.

 _-No_ _telephones are working in your service_ _area. Hang up and have a_ _nice_ _day,-_ the operator said as Sora hung up, crossing her arms in a pout.

"Any luck?" Tai asked.

"No," Sora answered.

"Weird. I got a strange feeling about this."

"Maybe this one will," Joe muttered, dialing another number.

_-To leave a message, press one now. To leave a fingerprint, press two now. Fifteen dollars for the next three minutes.-_

"Okay. Next one."

Joe had actually been at this for a while, the other kids having stopped and sat a little ways away from him.

"Very curious. Does Joe always behave like this?" Izzy inquired.

"Every single day," Tai shrugged off.

"No matter what number, or how many times he dials, those phones aren't gonna work!" Matt groaned out of irritation.

"Well, I'm gonna keep searching for a boat or something," Tai informed, about to walk off.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Matt interjected to stop Tai, "Even though we can't call out of here, there's always a chance someone else might be able to call in to us."

Tai just gave him a glare that basically said 'Really, Matt? Really?' So what, all Matt wanted to do was sit on the beach and play the Wait Game. The idea sounded so laughable. Of course the goggle-wearing boy wouldn't sit still even if you pay him.

"It's a waste of time doing nothing but sitting here," Tai pointed out.

"I'm going to stay here for a little while and see if anyone calls. Besides, everyone could use a little rest." A break did sound good, but what if no one was going to save them? Where they going to live alone without any help or adult supervision?

TK, Mimi, Palmon and Patamon all looked exhausted, laying back against the sand, needing a breather.

"And I'm getting pretty hungry, too," Izzy admitted.

"You know why? Because we haven't eaten anything all day," Tai realized before sighing, "Okay, break time, everybody!"

"Ahh. Does anybody else have any food? I think the only thing I have is... huh?" Sora sighed in relief before reaching back and realizing she still had the device from before, plucking it out, "Is that gadget that fell out of the sky at camp!"

"I forgot all about those weird gizmos."

"If anybody's got a pink one, I'll trade," Mimi offered as the other kids checked theirs as well.

"What are they, anyway?" TK wondered.

"We wouldn't have them if they weren't important," Matt noted.

"If I could take mine apart..." Izzy began to wonder before recalling his stomach was still growling, begging for sustenance, "Ummm... That is after I get something to eat. I'm really famished."

"Well, the only thing I've got is my emergency supplies," Sora recalled, pulling out her supplies, "It's got a first aid kit, some bandages, and some medicine, but that's about all I've got."

"I have my trusty laptop computer, and a digital camera. Oh, and I've got a small cell phone, too," Izzy touted, showing off his electronic devices, "Of course, not one of them's worked since we got here."

"I can't believe you dragged all that computer stuff to summer camp," Tai sighed.

"And what do you have?"

"Uhh, let's see," Tai muttered, pulling out... "There's my mini-telescope."

"Sorry, but I don't have anything to eat, either," Matt shrugged off.

"Hey, look at what I got," TK cheekily giggled, pulling off his backpack, "Check it out!"

Inside his backpack was a large stash of junk food. Chips, chocolate, candy, etc.

"Wow, look at all those goodies!" Mimi smiled before looking to TK, "Why don't you be a good little boy and share those treats with dear, sweet Mimi?"

"Ahh, you don't have to be so nice, Mimi. I'm happy to share. You're the best. Isn't she cute?"

"Forget it!" Matt shrugged off, trying to play cool.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," Tai groaned.

"I'd settle for a small cow," Izzy admitted.

"What about you, HG? Did you bring anything worth mentioning?" Sora checked.

"All I have some fruit and a few bottles of water," HG admitted, showing her items.

"I'm sure that's healthier to be sure, but you'll be ok," Tai figured.

"But it isn't that much for all of us," HG countered, leaving the others looking unsure until Sora got an idea.

"Mimi, what have you got in that big bag? Some hair brushes and makeup?" Sora guessed.

"Uhh, well, let's take a look," Mimi said, beginning to take out item after item from her bag, "Here's a compass, cooking fuel, flashlight, one of those knives with all the things, and some other stuff."

The kids all gasped in shock seeing she had all this.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a compass back when we needed one?" Matt gawked.

"I thought it might be kind of fun to see how far we could get without one. Besides, it's broken," Mimi shrugged off.

"Well, so much for finding our way out of here," Tai sighed.

"The other stuff could be useful," HG noted.

"Yeah, we could use the cooking fuel to make a signal fire," Matt agreed.

"That's true, or I guess we could barbecue some telephones," Sora nodded and joked as Tai turned to see Joe, still desperately trying to contact someone via the phones while Gomamon watched.

"Oh boy. Check out the genius. See? He's trying to call the telephone repair man because the telephones don't work. Problem is-," Tai rambled before he noticed something, "Look! Joe's got the emergency food!"

The other kids turned to look at Joe, shocked to see he had, on his shoulder, a bag with a red cross stitched onto it.

"No way!" Izzy gasped.

"Joe! Hey Joe! Look, you've got all the food!" Tai shouted, getting his attention.

"Hey! Don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone when they're on the telephone?" Joe snapped.

"But that bag-" Izzy started to say, Joe soon remembering the bag.

"This? I just brought it to give to Mimi. Today was her day to carry the bag!"

"Think he likes ya!" Palmon smiled.

"No way!" Mini scoffed as Joe rushed over, bag in hand despite how hefty it seemed.

"Mimi, you have got to stop thinking of yourself and do something to help somebody else for once! Take a little responsibility!" he scolded.

"But - that bag's too heavy for me!"

"Listen, you never hear me complaining."

"Guys, guys!" Tai interrupted, getting them to stop, "Listen, the most important thing now is that we've got some food to eat. So let's sit down and have some lunch."

"Uhh huh!" Sora nodded.

A bit later, as Gomamon relaxed in the water, the kids took the time to check on the supplies.

"Okay, let's figure this out. There's eight people in the group times three days, times three meals, that comes to..." Joe began.

"Seventy-two meals," Izzy interrupted with a calculation.

"Uh, right. So, split evenly between us, we have uhh..."

"Enough food for three days."

"Right! Oh, exactly, I guess you knew that."

"But you guys, when you add in the digimon, we really only have enough for about half an hour," Sora pointed out.

"Oh, that's right..."

"Not a problem at all. We digimon hunt and forage for ourselves," Gabumon assured.

"No need to include us in your calculations," Tentomon confirmed.

"You sure, Biyomon?" Sora checked, her partner smiling.

"Oh, absolutely!" Biyomon smiled and confirmed, "We can do alright for ourselves."

"Okay. Now that that's taken care of, let's go ahead and divide this between the eight people here," Joe smiled, unaware of Tai feeding himself and Agumon some of the emergency food.

"This is great. I could eat a dozen of these!" Tai smiled, Agumon nodding as he ate while HG gave Frimon half of her apple.

"You'll grow big and strong with this," HG told her partner as Frimon ate it up.

"Pretty good stuff. Nice and sweet," Frimon smiled.

HG smiled at her partner before she looked at Matt and then at her fruit. She grabbed a pear then got up before walking to the older boy.

"Um, Matt?" she spoke up, which made her blush a bit, "I thought you'd might want this. So... here."

"Uh... thanks," he replied, taking the pear as Joe took note of Tai and HG feeding their Digimon. Ever the cautious older child, Joe was wary of offering and feeding these creatures. Sure they protect them, but who knows if these so-called "Digimon" could stay loyal. They could eat them if they couldn't find food resources.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded to know.

"I'm glad we never hear you complaining," Tai replied with a snarky tone, HG hiding behind Matt who looked surprised by her actions. The shy girl didn't want a lecture. What was wrong with being kind? Was there a proper procedure in kindness?

"You take it easy on her. She's just a kid, Joe," Matt retorted.

"Hmmm! You people make me crazy!" Joe groaned.

Out in the water, Gomamon was able to relax before he sat up at the distinctive sound of the roar of a large beast. Biyomon soon looked out toward the water and hummed, eyes narrowed.

"Now what's the matter?" Sora asked.

"Trouble," the bird replied.

Sora then gasped as suddenly, from beneath the sand, a column of water shot up high into the air. The kids shouted and ran away as the column moved, knocking the telephone booths far into the air with its force.

"What's that?" Tai gawked as the booths, now mangled and broken, dropped onto the beach, where a tornado of sand rose to reveal a huge horned shell rising from the beach.

"Shellmon!" Tentomon shouted in shock.

"What's a Shellmon?" Izzy demanded.

"Something that gets mad for no reason!"

"Attacked by two digital monsters on the same day!" Joe sighed, exasperated, "And doesn't Shellmon know I'm allergic to shellfish?"

From the shell emerge a pair of two great pink legs and a head with an angry expression. The Digimon growled as he saw Joe try to climb up the nearby cliff face.

"Everybody, up here!" Joe hollered, but then Shellmon blew a jet of water from the top of his head, knocking Joe back to the ground.

"Joe!" Gomamon gasped, only to get hit by some water as well, Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon and Tentomon rushing over to face the attacking Digimon.

"Digimon, attack!" Agumon ordered as they rushed in.

"Agumon, you show him!" Tai shouted.

"PEPPER BREATH!"

The fire ball then managed to launch out and hit Shellmon in the face.

"BLUE BLASTER!" Gabumon shouted, but his attack fizzled out before it could go a foot, leaving him confused.

"SPIRAL TWISTER!" Biyomon cried, but her fire stopped as she lowered, looking winded.

"SUPER SHOCKER!" Tentomon hollered, but fell as he couldn't get much of a spark out.

"TAIL WHIP!" Frimon managed to shout, leaping up and smacking Shellmon's foot from out of nowhere.

"What's happening to them?" Izzy wondered. Agumon and Frimon are the only Digimon making progress while their comrades' attacks are weak. His partner couldn't do much even after he digivolved. This requires further investigation.

"They look like they've lost their powers," Matt noticed.

HG rushed in and grabbed Frimon to get out of there before the next attack landed.

"Agumon!" Tai shouted as his partner recovered and ran back in the fight.

"HG!" Matt and TK shouted as HG ducked back over to them.

"I don't think you're doing enough damage for him to feel anything, Frimon," the young girl told her partner.

"Sorry. I'm trying my best to protect you," Frimon apologized as Patamon tried to attack.

"BOOM BUBBLE!" the wing-eared Digimon shouted, but couldn't get a good puff out before getting slapped down to the ground.

"POISON IVY!" Palmon shouted, but her vines couldn't launch, to her confusion, before she got knocked aside as well by Shellmon's head.

Agumon continued to step up and blew another fireball that again hit Shellmon square in the face.

"Go get him, Agumon!" Tai cheered.

"Why is it only Agumon?" Izzy wondered.

"We're just too hungry," Tentomon groaned as Izzy looked to the bug.

"Gabumon!" Matt shouted to his partner.

"I don't have any strength..." Gabumon barely got out as Sora picked up Biyomon.

"That's it! Agumon and Frimon were the only ones who had anything to eat," Sora realized.

"Now I see," Izzy responded in understanding.

"Then the other Digimon don't have enough strength left to fight," Matt deduced.

"If only I knew exactly how to make Frimon stronger," HG sighed.

"Agumon! Looks like it's just you and me now!" Tai called out to his partner.

"Then give me a diversion!" Agumon requested as Tai ran around to Shellmon.

"Hey Shellmon! Ugly! Over here!"

"No, don't!" Sora pleaded as Tai rushed to a spot and found a long pole.

"This'll work!" he smirked before rushing in, jabbing it into Shellmon's shell, but one of the massive Digimon's head vines grabbed him and lifted the boy into the air screaming.

"Hold on, Tai!" Agumon called out, trying to blast Shellmon at first, but the larger Digimon seemed unfazed as he reached out, Agumon trying to run only to get stomped on, keeping him immobile under his foot as he blasted water near the other kids and Digimon

"Watch out!" Tai shouted, but he grunted, trying to break free, though it was futile, "He's gonna get everyone, and there's nothing I can do!" Why did he think it was a good idea to play decoy? Even with Agumon continuing to constantly attack the enemy, it's not enough to beat Shellmon.

Tai then yelled in pain as Shellmon crushed him tighter in his vine. Is this it? Tai's final end?

"Tai, no!" Agumon panicked as Tai screamed louder, unaware of his Digivice glowing, the small dino closing his eyes, "Digivolve!"

A bright light glowed from beneath Shellmon's foot, and Tai and the others watched in surprised.

"What's going on?" Tai gawked as Agumon seemed to grow.

"Agumon digivolve to..." Agumon began, his skin turning a darker orange with blue stripes, limbs growing larger and thicker while his head gained a brown helmet with three horns on top, his eyes now a burning red, "Greymon!"

Shellmon flung Tai out of the way as Greymon stood tall and growled.

"Whoa! He did it again! Now he's Greymon!" Tai gawked. Greymon.... How cool. He's like a giant dinosaur! Greymon.... Is.... AWESOME!!!

"How do you know that?" HG asked. Agumon digivolved again? How? Could Frimon be just as strong if he digivolved into another stage; could Frimon have a higher stage?

"He did say it," Tai answered.

Shellmon charged at his new opponent, and Greymon grappled with him, the struggling seemingly being even.

"Now you're getting him. Go, Greymon!" Tai cheered as Shellmon fired a stream of water at Greymon, who countered it with a stream of fire. Shellmon relented first, and Greymon quickly took advantage of the pause by using the horn on his snout as a scoop, throwing the other Digimon out over the sea.

"NOVA BLAST!" Greymon roared, launching a larger fireball at Shellmon, the huge ball of fire propeling Shellmon so far out to sea that when he landed, the splash looked tiny from the shore.

Seeing this, HG smiled widely in victory for the team, Greymon soon shrinking down back to Agumon, who plopped to the sand, drained.

"What! Agumon!" Tai shouted, rushing over to his partner's side, "Oh, are you alright? You poor little guy. Agumon!"

"Tai? Tai!" Agumon responded, getting Tai to see the small dino's open eyes, "Do you have anything to eat?"

To this, Tai just ended up laughing, relieved at the outcome.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later...

"Hello? Come on, I know you're there! Operator? Operator!" Joe shouted into the receiver of the demolished payphone, kneeling in the sand as Tai sighed.

"There's really no reason to stay here now," Tai pointed out.

"Who wants to break the bad news to Joe?" Matt inquired as HG looked to her partner.

"So are other Digimon out there dangerous like that big thing?" HG asked Frimon.

"There's a lot of creatures like that. But you need to be careful. Mind your space around them, and they won't bother you usually," Frimon answered.

The Digimon, along with Sora, Mimi and TK were circled around a spread of food which was being gulped down quickly.

"You want some more, just say so," Sora smiled as the Digimon devoured the food.

"Shellmon wasn't destroyed," Izzy noticed, "He was just temporarily removed. We should pack up and leave before he decides he wants to come back for round two."

"Good idea," Matt agreed.

"In that case," Joe started, having finally given up on the phone call, "We should go right back to the forest. Because if anybody's looking for us, that's the place they'll go!"

"Joe, I said this before. We fell off a cliff and floated down a river to get here. And getting back there's a really big job," Sora sighed, exasperated.

"And we could run into Kuwagamon!" Mimi reminded them in her worry.

"Now listen. Logically speaking, if there are telephones here, then there must be people to use them," Izzy deduced, "So, I think it makes good sense to try and find those people."

"That makes sense?" Joe shrugged.

"It certainly does," Sora confirmed.

"Yeah," HG nodded, Joe just sighing to himself as he thought a bit.

"Then let's all get going!" Tai called out.

"Anywhere you want to go, I'll go, Tai," Agumon smiled, "You just pick the direction."

"Then let's get outta this place!"

"And let the monsters beware!" Matt chimed in.

"Mmm hmmm. Well, my plan is to avoid all monsters. Yep, that's my plan," Joe shrugged, but smiled.

"Okay, here we go!" Tai called out as he led the group on, all of the Digimon shouted "Digimon!" as the group laughed, and they all headed off, ready for whatever adventure the digital world will throw at them next.


	3. Garurumon

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim, and** **Black Cat Angel** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.** _

**Garurumon**

The group was later seen standing on a cliff, overlooking the sea. Tai is standing at the edge, thinking.

'We've almost searched the whole island, and we still haven't found any people. Just some monsters with attitude. But they couldn't beat our digimon friends who could turn into these awesome fighters! Like when Agumon digivolved into Greymon and kicked Shellmon to the curb. He was so cool!' Tai thought to himself as he looked out at sea before turning to Agumon, "Yo, Agumon!"

"What's up, Tai?" the small dino asked.

"I like it when you're Greymon. No offense, but why don't you just stay that way?"

"I can't."

"Hm."

"But even superheroes need a rest."

Tai flinched in response to that, but was saved by Agumon snagging his shirt with his claw before he fell over the cliff, the other kids laughing at this moment.

"You know, I was wondering. If Agumon could digivolve like that, can you all do that too?" HG asked the other Digimon, all nodding and giving various confirming words before they heard a roar, turning to see what was behind them.

The source turned out to be a large grey monster as it crashed through a wall of rock.

"Who's that digimon?" Izzy asked.

"It's a Monochromon. But don't worry about him - he's a laid back Digimon," Tentomon assured, though the Monochromon still roared, "Although, it is wise to be a bit cautious with a Monochromon. They do tend to get a bit miffed when they're hungry."

"Then he must be starving, cause he looks really mad!" Tai figured as the beast got closer.

"And I think he wants to eat us!" Mimi panicked until they heard another loud roar come from behind them, and the group turned to see another Monochromon coming toward them.

"There are two of them!" Matt gawked, "We're caught between a rock and two sets of teeth!"

The kids quickly ran behind a nearby boulder, and the two Monochromon clashed, locking horns and smashing rocks around them.

"Something must have set those Monochromon off," Tai figured.

"They're fighting over territory," Tentomon informed.

"They can just have it then!" Palmon scoffed before running off.

"Hey! Don't leave without me!" Mimi cried out as she and the others followed.

"They definitely don't need us hanging around!" Tai affirmed as the Monochromon continued fighting brutally with each other, the group trying to run to safety as TK tripped and cried out as he fell to the ground, but was helped up by Matt.

"TK, come on!" Matt responded.

"Better hurry up you guys!" Tai hollered.

"Kay, we're coming!" TK replied, getting up and rushing after Tai, Matt having stopped a moment out of shock before moving on after, no one aware that the Monochromon by that point tumbled off the edge of the cliff and splashed into the sea.

"Is everyone alright?" HG checked.

The others just nodded and confirmed this.

Later on, the kids and their Digimon were walking through a forest with road signs posted at odd angles throughout the underbrush.

"I don't walk this much unless I'm at a mall. And as you can see, we're nowhere near one!" Mimi complained as she leaned against a tree.

"Mimi, stop whining," Tai groaned.

"No, my feet hurt!"

"Maybe if you'd take off your boots and socks, you'd feel better, Mimi. It's much more practical, I think," Agumon offered.

"I'm not walking and dirtying my bare feet!"

"I love the feel of dirt under my feet! Especially between my toes," Palmon beamed.

"Gross!"

"It appears that we may be losing our light source," Izzy noted.

"What a weird sunset," Sora noted, seeing the sunset in the sky shine in an odd mixture of colors.

"Really? I kinda like it," HG admitted.

"This whole island is weird. And who knows what will come out at night," Izzy pointed out.

"Wait, I detect water! Stay here while I check it out," Tentomon called out as he flew up into a tree and got a good view of a nearby lake, "Yes, as usual, I'm right. It's a lake with fresh, clean water, and a variety of tasty fish. It's a perfect campsite!"

"Maybe I can finally soak my poor, achy feet," Mimi sighed.

"Yay, we get to swim!" Gomamon cheered, only to get stopped by Joe grabbing his tail, making him crash to the ground.

"Gomamon! You'd better wait and make sure it's safe first!" Joe warned.

"That's why I think we should keep walking, and stop all the complaining," Matt insisted.

"Everybody's hungry. We have to find some food!" Tai added. Not everyone could be tough like you, tough guy… he wanted to say but held his tongue.

"That is a good plan. I like that plan a lot," Joe nodded.

The group later gathered into a circle by the shore, the group inspecting the lake that had phone towers poking out.

"It should be safe to rest here tonight," Biyomon figured.

"Yeah, I love camping outside," Sora smiled.

"If I won't walk in dirt, what makes you think I'll sleep in it?" Mimi whined. Her outfit wasn't made for sleeping on the ground! She would rather sleep on leaves, unless they're perfectly clean leaves (the green types). Or blankets! That would do.

"Mimi, do you see a hotel here?" Tai asked sarcastically before Mimi gasped and the others turned to see a trolley car sitting on the beach, headlights flaring, "What's that?"

"It looks like a trolley car," TK noted.

"That's odd. The lights just came on," Izzy observed.

"Well, maybe there are some real people in there," Sora figured.

"Let's check it out!" Tai responded as the group ran toward the gray and yellow vehicle.

"Maybe it can take us back home... In air-conditioned comfort!" Mimi cheered as she ran ahead.

"Mimi, wait up!" Tai hollered as the others ran after her, though HG was going a little slower then the others.

With all that had happened, HG wasn't really as interested in finding a way home. Here, she finally had a friend and people noticed her. If they couldn't find a way back, they could adapt here. Well, HG wouldn't mind. Maybe she could convince the gang she could stay with Frimon. No, they wouldn't allow her to stay, especially Joe.

'I wish the others weren't in such a hurry,' she thought.

They soon reached the trolley and went inside, but there was nobody there.

"Bummer, it's empty!" Tai sighed.

"Totally empty," Sora added.

"No trolley car's this clean," Izzy observed.

"Oh goodie, these cushions are comfy!" Mimi smiled, making herself comfy.

"Something's wrong. Remember those weird phone booths we saw on the beach? Something just as freaky could happen here," Tai pointed out.

"Yeah, like this suddenly moving all by itself," Joe added.

"Possibly, but then again, maybe that's how we're going to get home."

"So we have nothing to lose by staying here," Sora figured.

"Ohhh, can we eat now?" Tentomon groaned.

"That's right, I forgot," Tai sighed.

Later, Gomamon popped above the surface of the lake and swam toward Izzy and TK, who were sitting on the shore as Izzy was holding a makeshift fishing pole.

"Gomamon, stop playing in the water! I can't catch any fish if you keep on warning them away!" Izzy shouted.

"Yum yum. You can't get too many berries down the hatch," Tentomon smiled.

Sitting on top of Agumon's head, Patamon took a deep breath and fired a Boom Bubble at a bunch of bananas, knocking them off the tree and onto Gabumon's head, where they were speared by his horn. Gabumon groaned and held his head as Biyomon laughed.

"Oh boy, you'd better watch that killer breath of yours, Patamon," Biyomon giggled before flying up and tried to pry down a fruit from a tree.

Meanwhile, Mimi was looking at mushrooms with Palmon.

"Those are bad mushrooms, you shouldn't pick them!" Palmon warned, "They'll make you sick!"

"I'd be a big mess without you, Palmon, you're the best!" Mimi smiled.

"Ahh, stop!"

Sora, Tai and Matt were standing around a small circle of rocks and kindling, but with no fire as HG and Frimon came with twigs and placed them in the ring.

"We found a lot of sticks," Frimon replied.

"We're all set to cook dinner. Now all we need is the grub!" Matt said.

"Great, but how are we supposed to light the fire?" Sora asked.

"Like this!" Agumon answered, spitting fire at the firewood to light it up.

"Wow, Agumon, you're the man!" Tai smiled.

"Awww..."

Izzy and TK ran back over to the group, carrying fish on branches.

"Hey, lookit!" TK shouted.

"We caught a bunch of fish!" Izzy stated as they handed the fish to the others.

"Awesome, Izzy, let's eat 'em!" Tai smiled widely, holding the fish in his hand.

"Thanks, squirt," Matt replied, taking a fish on a stick from TK, who smiled and laughed, Matt walking back to the fire.

"This is where I wish we had a microwave," Tai muttered, gingerly holding his fish by the tail above the flames.

"Me too, because you're about to lose your fingers," Matt added, pointing out Tai's idiotic moment before setting his stick on the side, the fish just near the flames without getting it in, "Why don't you use a stick?"

"How did you come up with that, Matt?"

"Because I'm the man!"

Later that night, the group was enjoying their dinner of fish and fruit.

"This is surprisingly good!" Tentomon noted as he and Biyomon ate a large green guava-like fruit as Izzy ate some fish.

"Delicious!" Izzy smiled.

"Matt, Mom only lets me eat fish sticks," TK pointed out.

"Those things are gross," HG responded in disgust. Chewy fish insides, disgusting. Cooked fish was way better, especially grilled. Anyway, TK needed to understand they're not in the metropolis; in the safe comfort of home. Not to mention, no adults telling them what to do. The group had each other to comfort and rely on their instincts. Then again, it'd be harder on TK since he's younger and he's used to his mother taking care of him.

"I won't tell," Matt assured TK.

"I never eat with my fingers," TK added.

"TK, it's alright!"

"Yeah, you're hanging with the big boys now," Tai added.

"Kay," TK shrugged before biting into his fish.

"TK, doesn't your mom ever cook that doesn't require heating up?" HG asked.

"She thinks it's not good or clean at my age to be eating stuff like that," TK answered.

"That makes no sense."

"I don't make the rules. I just follow them."

"Forgive me for saying this, but I think maybe your mom spoils you a bit."

TK just remained silent as he tried to focus on his food.

HG looked down in response, thinking a bit to herself before she looked up to Matt, hoping he'd make things better. However, he seemed a bit troubled while looking away.

'Did I make things worse? What's with them?' Oh no, maybe she said too much. Stupid, stupid! She had no right to say that! It's none of her business; unfortunately, she didn't have a reality remote to rewind her past to correct herself. HG sheepishly nibbled her food. Her eyes are focusing on anything except the brothers, especially Matt. Grilled fish suddenly tasted dull on her taste buds.

At that moment, Tai noticed the trio's situation before walking over to Sora, who was cleaning something.

"Hey Sora?" he asked, getting her attention.

"What?" she asked.

"Matt doesn't treat TK like a brother, only like he's a bother. Is it just me, or have you noticed that too?" Tai checked.

"Yeah."

"I wonder."

"Matt's still learning to be a big brother."

"Maybe."

'Learning?' thought HG to herself as Patamon yawned and curled up beside TK.

"Look, Patamon's tired," TK realized.

"It has been a long day," HG admitted.

Palmon and Gomamon were soon sleeping a few steps away as well.

"I'm getting really tired myself," Tai yawned as well.

"Wait a second, I think we should take turns standing guard," Izzy pointed out.

"Alright. Who wants to go first?" Joe asked.

"How about if each of us stands guard for about an hour," Tai pointed out.

"Not TK," Matt insisted.

"Aww, come on, me too, Matt," TK pleaded. Why do the big kids get to be the cool ones?

"No, you're too young and you need your rest!"

"I'm getting cold. I need a warm blanket to help me sleep," Mimi complained, HG sighing as she blocked out most of what Tai was teasing Gabumon about until-

"QUIT IT!" Matt snapped, shoving Tai back.

"Ooh! What are you bugging about?" Tai asked.

"Gabumon told you to stop! So knock it off!"

"Hey, you can't tell me what to do!"

Tai and Matt grabbed each other's shirts, looking as if they're about to fight.

"You guys, stop fighting!" TK begged, the two boys huffing and turning their backs to each other, arms crossed. Of course, boys and their testosterones were rising. They'd been there for half a day and the two boys were at it like fire and ice. Their aura screamed superiority.

"You'd both make great guards. Who goes first?" Joe asked.

"I will!" Tai started.

"I'm next!" Matt answered, leaving TK to sigh with relief while Patamon yawned.

"How about if Izzy takes over after that, and then I finish up the night?" Joe offered, "I propose that the rest of us trek back to the bus and get some shut-eye."

Back at the trolley car, the kids were sitting up on the trolley's seats, while their Digimon were settled on the floor on top of a bed of leaves.

"I can't sleep with all of you here!" Mimi complained.

"Quit complaining. So it's not perfect. Just be glad we have a place to sleep," Sora retorted.

"That's right, Mimi," Izzy nodded.

"Goodnight," Joe bid.

"Don't let the Monochromon bite," TK added as he fell asleep.

'Thanks for reminding me, TK,' Sora thought, dozing off.

'My feet still hurt,' Mimi mentally whined.

'Why is there a trolley here? Maybe it's the aliens. Maybe they knew we needed it,' Izzy pondered in his sleep.

'I hope I don't get any monster cooties,' Joe thought, closing his eyes as he removed his glasses, Matt, HG, and Gabumon were sleeping on another set of seats as Matt opened his eyes.

"Gabumon?" he asked his Digimon.

"Yeah?" Gabumon asked.

"Go over and lay down with my brother."

"Why, Matt?"

"Because your fur's making me sweat. Now, go!"

"Because you want me to keep TK warm."

"Hey, I didn't say that!"

"You just don't want to admit it," Gabumon shrugged, getting up.

"Whatever."

Gabumon curled up beside TK soon after, putting a furry arm across him. TK opened his eyes and saw Gabumon in his sleepy daze, turning to his bro.

"Thanks, Matt," TK smiled as Matt, startled, turned away, blushing.

HG couldn't sleep because it was too bright inside the car. So she quietly followed Matt with Frimon coming with her, the older blonde boy not noticing this.

'If I made things worse, I have to make it up to Matt. And TK,' HG thought to herself as she and Frimon saw Tai and Matt talking by the water.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to get so mad. It's just being here, and having to watch TK..." Matt said to Tai.

"Do you guys even live in the same house?" Tai asked.

"Not anymore. Our parents are divorced and we don't get to see each other much," Matt answered as HG gasped quietly. Shoot! She really messed up! It's understandable how the two brothers' narrow relationship.

"Well, that explains a lot," Tai admitted as Matt sighed in frustration and took off running down the shore.

HG soon followed, looking for him, looking sad when she heard a sound. Not far was Matt sitting on the ground a little way off playing the blues on a harmonica. Gabumon walked up to Matt in response.

"What a wonderful sound!" he complimented as HG held the ocarina from her neck, and started to play with Matt.

The older boy was a little surprised, but kept going as she sat down with him. The two kids harmonizing brought calmness between them. The music carried across the beach, the two playing a while until they stopped. The tension lingered, but wasn't as stiff as earlier.

"Why are you out here?" Matt asked, surprising HG a bit before she leaned back.

"I couldn't sleep with the brightness in the car," she admitted, Matt nodding in response, "Matt, if I upset you and TK, I'm sorry."

"What made you think you upset us?"

"Neither of you said anything after I said that TK's mom spoils him," she pointed out.

"From what Dad said, it's because mom really does care for him. I can only imagine how hard it is on Mom to keep TK happy when Dad struggles with his job," Matt sighed, "You're lucky you have both of your parents."

HG winced in response to that. "That might be true, but at least neither of you two are invisible to your parents."

"What?"

"Honestly, my parents hardly notice me... mostly because of my older brother getting spoiled by them. Most kids don't want to be friends with me, and if they do, it's just so they can meet him...I'm nothing to them. That's why I'm always distancing myself from others... so I don't get hurt like that again. ...So I won't be betrayed."

Matt was dumbfounded by this, but then sighed in response as he took her into a hug.

"If it helps, you have us as friends," he assured.

"But how can I be sure? Actions speak louder than words. Common knowledge, really."

Matt couldn't think of much else, returning to his harmonica for a bit. As the two rested, a wave began to form in the lake, and from the wave emerged the huge yellow head of a green sea monster.

"What the?! What is that?!" Matt gawked.

"It's a Seadramon!" Frimon shouted with a growl.

Meanwhile, the group inside the trolley car heard it and cowered in fear.

"What's that horrible sound?" Sora panicked.

"It's an earthquake!" Mimi screamed

"The trolley's starting to move! And I don't think it's taking us home!" Joe added.

"It's taking us toward that sea dragon!" Izzy realized

"Oh no! Seadramon!" Tentomon gawked as the serpent turned away from the island and began to swim off, somehow managing to pull the island with it.

The group scrambled out of the trolley car to avoid further jostling.

"We're gonna get eaten for sure!" Mimi screamed.

The stone bridge that connected the island to the shore was suddenly destroyed by the movement, shocking Matt and HG.

"The land's moving!" Matt gasped as he, Gabumon, HG and Frimon were forced to watch as Tai, Agumon, the others and the trolley were pulled along behind Seadramon.

"Hold tight, we're going for a ride!" Agumon shouted.

"It's like we're on a monster longboard!" Tai gawked.

"He's pulling us along by his tail. I don't even think he realizes we're here," Izzy noticed.

"Perhaps not. He's a bit dense. As long as he doesn't see us, we should be safe," Tentomon figured.

"Don't be too sure," Agumon figured as the beast stopped.

"You guys jinxed us!" Tentomon snapped as he jumped on what looked like a giant red leaf, "Now he knows we're here!"

"What? I didn't do anything!" Tai and Agumon retorted as Tentomon was launched off the red leaf as it was pulled into the water and back out.

"AH! THAT BIG RED THING WAS HIS TAIL!" Tai realized.

"It wasn't my fault!" Tentomon protested as Seadramon roared, whipping his tail at the moving island, knocking Tai, Agumon, Izzy and Tentomon off their feet again.

"He's coming back and he's not happy!" Tai panicked as Seadramon dove under the water, looking like nothing but a silhouette that slammed his head into the bottom of the island, pushing it to the other side.

"We're gonna crash into the shore!" Joe gasped.

"This is really gonna mess up my hair!" Mimi screamed.

"TK!" Matt shouted, diving into the lake to swim after the runaway island as HG was shocked.

"Matt, wait up!" HG responded, following Matt into the water as Frimon wrapped his tail around her neck just tight enough to hold on, letting HG breathe as she swam after Matt.

"Matt, I'm just letting you know, my fur's gonna get wet, and I'm going to stink!" Gabumon warned before making a cannonball jump before swimming after the swimming duo.

'I'm so glad I took lessons!' HG thought to herself.

Suddenly, the land stopped in the middle of the water.

"Great, he left us right in the middle of the lake," Tai groaned.

"I don't suppose we could trick him into taking us back..." Izzy muttered.

"Get ready, he's attacking!"

"Come on you guys, let's send him back to the fishies!" Agumon called out.

"No problem!" Gabumon shouted.

"SPIRAL TWISTER!" Biyomon screeched, firing her blast as Patamon let out a Boom Bubble, but neither attack had much effect on the giant sea serpent... in fact, it just served to annoy him.

"POISON IVY!" Palmon shouted, her vines not able to reach Seadramon as Tentomon flew up to get a better angle to strike.

"SUPER SHOCKER!" he cried out, zapping the Digimon as Agumon prepared his own attack.

"PEPPER BREATH!"

Seadramon roared in anger when the fireball hit his face, but didn't seem affected by any of the Digimon's attacks.

"Agumon, digivolve!" Tai shouted.

"I've been trying, but I can't seem to do it this time, Tai," Agumon pointed out.

"You have to!"

"Maybe my body hasn't recovered from the last fight."

"But if you can't help us, how are we gonna stop Seadramon?"

"TK! Over here!" they heard Matt shout, the group seeing him still swimming over to them.

"Everyone!" HG shouted, right behind Matt with Frimon still on her neck.

"Matt! HG!" TK shouted as Gomamon followed TK to the edge of the shore, seeing the four swimming closer, "Matt, be careful! Or the monster will get y- ahh!"

A sudden shake of the island had sent TK into the water screaming, and Gomamon dove in after him.

"TK!" Matt and HG screamed in shock, Gomamon soon resurfacing with TK perched safely on his head.

"That was close," HG smiled with some relief.

"Gomamon, go!" Joe cheered.

"Hurry up, Matt!" Tai called out.

"Get out fast, it's Seadramon! He's back!" Tentomon screamed as Seadramon bolted for them.

"Gomamon, you can do it!" Matt encouraged.

"Right!" Gomamon nodded, getting TK back to shore.

"Hey! Over here, you overgrown water lizard!" Matt shouted while luring Seadramon away, getting a growl from Seadramon.

"BLUE BLASTER!" Gabumon shouted, hitting Seadramon, but as before, seemed to barely feel the attack.

With a flick of his tail, Seadramon flipped Gabumon out of the water and sent him flying through the air.

"I hate this!" Gabumon cried out when Seadramon suddenly wrapped Matt with the end of his tail, dragging him underwater as Gabumon pulled himself weakly onto the island where the others were watching.

"It's all my fault. Matt was only trying to save me, I'll never forgive myself!" TK sighed.

"Oh no!" Tai gasped as they saw Matt get lifted into the air, crushing him as he cried out in pain.

"This is not good! Seadramon may be a bubble brain, but once he finds his prey, he won't let go!" Tentomon gawked.

"Matt, hang on! Patamon, please help him! Hit him with a Bubble Boom!" TK cried.

"Seadramon's way too big, I just don't have enough power now. Gabumon, you're stronger, how about you?" Patamon responded.

"You're right. Matt is in trouble, and I must help!" Gabumon muttered.

"Gabumon!" Matt cried out as everyone looked up to him and even saw HG climbing Seadramon's neck. How'd she get up there without being spotted was a better question. HG, following her instincts, climbed onto the angry sea beast.

"HG! What are you doing?! Get down from there!" Sora cried out.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, but I can't turn my back on my friends!" HG muttered before turning to Matt, "Matt! You've proven yourself that you really want to be my friend! I accept!" She would do anything in her power to help her new fiend. She wouldn't let this overgrown sea snake take Matt away. She'd claw her nails into the tail if need be.

"That'd be helpful if I wasn't being crushed!" Matt replied, screaming again.

"Don't give up! I'll find a way to save you if it's the last thing I do!" TK assured.

"You leave Matt alone!" HG snapped as she tried punching Seadramon, but it did nothing.

"This isn't working! We need another way to stop him!" Frimon cried.

"Matt! Hold on!" Gabumon called out before saying to himself, "I don't understand any of this, but I have to save Matt. What's a little stinky fur compared to a friend like him?"

The Digivices of Matt and HG glowed and sent out a magical energy to Gabumon.

"Matt!" Gabumon cried.

"Gabumon!" Matt shouted as his partner began to glow, Frimon soon glowing in sync with HG's Digivice.

"HG!" Frimon shouted.

"Frimon!" HG gawked, the two glowing Digimon soon growing and changing.

"Gabumon digivolve to..." Gabumon began, turning into a giant bluish-white wolf with stripes and spiky fur, "Garurumon!"

"Frimon digivolve to..." Frimon began as he grew and turned into a lion cub of proper size, golden fur with a red tuft on his head with green eyes, and a golden collar with odd symbols, plus a green gem on it, "Liollmon!"

Garurumon ran forward and leapt through the air, slashing at Seadramon's tail, forcing the serpent to drop Matt as the wolf latched onto the back of Seadramon, biting down hard as the serpent thrashed about in pain, roaring while Liollmon bit on Seadramon's head, HG dropping back to the water as she and Matt quickly swam back to shore.

Finally Seadramon was able to whack Garurumon with his tail, knocking the large wolf Digimon into the water. Not letting him recover, Seadramon used his tail to push him far beneath the surface.

"Are you alright, Matt?" TK asked.

"Yeah, but where's Gabumon?" Matt confirmed and responded as Garurumon rose from the water, followed by Seadramon, Liollmon still clinging onto the serpent's head. Garurumon whipped his tail at the sea monster and hit him in the face, causing the larger Digimon to rear back in pain.

"Garurmon's fur is legendary. It's strong as steel. He's like a growling torpedo," Tentomon stated.

"That's astonishing. Then he must be invincible," Izzy gawked.

"Well, that's what I've heard, anyway. We'll soon find out."

"I hope you're not exaggerating, Tentomon, with another one of your wild fish tales again," Tai sighed.

"He could be," Agumon shrugged.

"But I heard about it!" Tentomon insisted as he then looked to see Liollmon bite down harder on the serpent's head, making it scream in pain, "Liollmon, despite being a Rookie, is said to have an incredible bite on par with some Champion level Digimon with claws that can rip through most materials as well."

Seadramon fired a blast of freezing air at Garurumon. The water in the lake froze and Garurumon was covered in ice.

"Oh no! Seadramon's using his lethal Ice Blast!" Tentomon gasped as the blast continued, but Garurumon simply flexed his muscles, breaking free of the ice.

"HOWLING BLASTER!" Garurumon roared, firing a blast of blue flames from his mouth.

"CRITICAL BITE!" Liollmon shouted, biting down as Garurumon's attack pushed back Seadramon's Ice Blast until the fire reached the sea serpent's head, the blast knocked Liollmon off the head of the beast as Seadramon fell backward into the lake, defeated.

The kids on the shore cheered, and Garurumon changed back into Gabumon, who, with Liollmon, climbed back onto the island.

"Gabumon!" Matt smiled.

"Flying's sure a good way to keep my fur dry," Gabumon jested.

"You digivolved into Garurumon just in time!"

"You said your name is Liollmon, now?" HG checked with her partner. Her partner was so big - well, bigger - than before. So cool. Was this how Tai felt seeing Agumon digivolved? A warm swelling in her chest blossomed. Pride? Grateful? Relief? Proud? Yeah, proud sounded better. HG was proud of her Digimon evolving to the next stage.

"That's right," Liollmon nodded.

"Aw, Gabumon, thanks for saving my brother!" TK thanked Gabumon, hugging him.

"Any time, little friend," Gabumon smiled.

"Matt, you were so awesome against that monster!"

"You were really cool!" HG agreed.

"You think so?" Matt asked, actually blushing out of embarrassment.

"You know, you were the man!" Gabumon complemented.

"And you're the wolf-man!"

The kids and Digimon laughed happily in response.

"Okay, very funny, but how are we supposed to get back?" Joe asked.

"Just watch!" Gomamon replied, leaping into the water and then resurfacing, "MARCHING FISHES!"

This summoned an entire school of obliging fish that pushed the island back to the main shoreline.

-Later-

"Looks like you caught up with everyone, Liollmon," HG smiled, petting her partner.

"Took a while, but I'm glad I could," Liollmon smiled, purring a bit before HG turned to Matt.

"Matt? Even though it was a bad time, I still accept you as my friend."

Matt smiled in response as he knelt down to her and playfully messed with her hair.

"Thanks, HG," he smiled, HG giggling before turning to TK.

"And TK, I'm sorry if I upset you when I said your mom spoils you."

"Aw, it's ok. It's no big deal," TK assured.

"It's just that I don't want you to end up like my older brother."

The three smiled before Matt and HG played their instruments together, TK, Patamon, Gabumon, and Liollmon starting to rest.

"Ahh, big bro, you're the best," TK smiled as the sounds of the harmonica and ocarina filled the air.


	4. Biyomon Gets Firepower

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim, and** **Black Cat Angel** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.** _

**Biyomon Gets Firepower**

The group were in a forest filled with road signs as something large passed over their heads, making a loud noise.

"Wha- hey!" Sora responded, hearing the noise.

"Whoa, did you hear that?" Tai gawked.

"It seems to be some sort of aircraft," Matt figured.

"It looked like a big flying gear," Sora pointed out.

"Admit it, my alien theory is becoming more plausible," Izzy deduced.

"Yeah, they hit us with an anti-gravity ray to make us all crooked!" Joe agreed, staring at a sign that was tilted, "Or maybe that sign's just crooked."

As he stepped up on a root, TK slipped down, screaming.

"TK!" Sora gasped as they helped him up.

"Whoa! That was scary!" he responded.

"Watch it! That could've been a snake, or worse!" Tai replied.

"Oh boy, I'm sorry. Hey Biyomon, are there really snakes here?"

"No, just giant flying killer bugs and other unpleasant Digimon," Biyomon said matter-of-factly.

"Don't you worry, TK, I'll take care of them!" Patamon assured as he laughed with TK laughs and they hugged.

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's get going," Sora smiled.

"Nothing's settled, and where would we go? We don't even know where we are!" Matt countered.

"This is silly, I say we keep moving and see if we can find any signs of intelligent life here," Tai insisted.

"Hey wait a minute, is he saying that Digimon are not intelligent? Is that what he's saying?" Biyomon asked. That was offensive beyond compare. Digimon could talk and fight. The pink bird Digimon could bet there was no other creature Tai or any human encounter at their home world.

"Not at all. But I think Tai is right. We need to keep moving in hopes of finding out where we are. We need to stay calm and stick together," Sora figured, Biyomon looking at her funny before Sora chuckled nervously, "Let's remember, we're in this together."

"Together sounds good!" Her partner is great! Sora's inspirational words gave Biyomon hope and excitement.

"We can do it! This'll take teamwork. And I'm sure we'll figure out exactly where we are and how to get back. There's no point in splitting up because then, once somebody did figure it out, we-"

"Hey, Sora? Open your eyes."

Sora opened her eyes in response to see that the rest of the group had moved on without them.

"Well thanks a lot for waiting!" Sora retorted, as she and Biyomon ran to catch up as the bird giggled.

"Moving right along folks, keep it moving. Our next stop on the tour will be the forest of irrelevant road signs. No pictures, please!" Matt narrated as if he were a tour guide cracking jokes as Biyomon held Sora's hand, making HG giggle.

"I didn't think you were one who makes jokes, Matt," HG giggled, Matt chuckling in response.

'We're lost, and these guys are making jokes,' Sora thought to herself. Those two needed to be serious. Sooner or later it was going to get dark and they needed to have a calm and mature group. Great, the next thing she knew they might start an "I Spy" game. Matt needed to be an adult for TK; they were brothers for crying out loud! Sora couldn't blame them, though. It's better than panicking.

"Hey wait up, my shoelace is broken!" Joe responded.

"You need new shoes," Mimi pointed out, getting her an idea, "Oooh, new shoes!"

It isn't long before they reach the edge of the forest to see a clearing... toward a desert littered with several tall telephone poles.

"Look! Telephone poles," Matt pointed out, "I say we follow them and see where they lead!"

"They'll just lead to trouble," Joe figured.

As they crossed the vast wasteland of sand, Izzy noticed a black shape flying through the blue sky towards a nearby mountain.

"Look, the alien saucer again!" he pointed out.

"And it's headed for a close encounter!" Matt quipped as the black shape crashed into the grass-covered mountain in the distance. Izzy wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed.

"Boy, it's so hot I can feel the heat coming up through my socks," TK panted.

"Well, TK, maybe you should put your shoes back on," Matt retorted.

"Oh, this hot desert air is destroying my complexion. How much further is it?" Mimi whined.

"Is that all you're worried about, Mimi? We'll be lucky if we even survive this hike!" Joe snapped.

"Hey, does anybody besides me see that these telephone poles have no connecting wires?" Sora pointed out.

"She's right," Izzy realized, "I wonder if these actually are telephone poles. Maybe they're some odd alien equivalent."

"Somehow, I don't know if that's how that works," HG shrugged.

"Hey, remember those phone booths? And that streetcar?" Mimi suddenly brought up.

"Yeah, what about 'em?" Izzy asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if anybody else remembered."

"That's it! Doomed. The heat has baked our brains and we're all gonna end up like roasted piglets!" Joe panicked.

"Just remain calm, Joe. We've only been walking for two minutes," Izzy pointed out.

"Izzy! Come here, Izzy," Tentomon responded, getting Izzy to get closer, "I think we'd better find some shade for Joe. And quick."

HG brought out her three water bottles in response.

"I know this isn't much, but I'm willing to share if we need the water, as long as we take little sips," HG replied, though most of the kids didn't listen as Mimi walked over.

"You won't believe what happened to my favorite watch!"

"Hmm? What?" Joe responded.

Mimi then held up another compass and laughed.

"The sun melted the numbers right off!" she joked, holding it down so everyone can see it work.

"Mimi, for somebody who hates hiking, you sure have a lot of compasses," Tai pointed out, but after the compass needle teetered, it suddenly spun rapidly into a red blur, shocking the kids, "Of course, none of them actually work."

Izzy picked up a handful of sand and examined it in response to the compass.

"Oh, this dirt contains small traces of metal which could affect the compass needle," Izzy deduced.

"Oh well. I'm always late anyway," Mimi sighed.

"This is one weird world, and I don't like it one little bit!" Sora snapped, hangs on her hips.

"I think we should start looking for water, guys. Otherwise, we could dehydrate in all this heat. And HG's supply isn't enough," Izzy pointed out, HG actually thankful Izzy pointed out her offer, but is saddened by the realization.

"Yeah. But we're doing okay for now, aren't we?" Tai figured.

"You did drink every last bit I had," HG pointed out, now all of the bottles empty as Mimi stood up.

"Heeeeelp! Somebody please find us!" Mimi cried to the heavens.

"I've taken this oil sample, measured the barometric pressure, and analyzed the relative humidity," Izzy deduced as the group continued to walk later.

"And what did you find out?" Sora asked.

"It's really, really hot."

"Says you. I'm used to this kind of weather. It feels nice against my new fur," Liollmon smiled as he continued to walk.

"Hang on, just a little longer. Don't give up now," Tai tried to encourage.

"We're gonna be okay, just keep moving along," Mimi said to try and encourage Palmon.

"My head is baking," Palmon whined as Mimi took off her hat, "If this goes on too much longer, I'm going to look like a wilted salad!"

"Here, you wear my hat for a while," Mimi offered, placing her hat on Palmon's head, "You need it more than I do."

"Thank you, Mimi."

"Pee-yew! What's that yucky smell?" TK suddenly reacted in disgust.

"Ugh! Here's a thought. Now you know why they call them sweat socks!" Matt retorted.

"If you're trying to be funny, it's not. It's disgusting," HG reacted, covering her nose.

"This beach would be a lot more popular if it just had a couple more things," Mimi rambled to get her mind off the heat, "Like, an ocean, a gentle breeze, snack bar, hunky lifeguards..."

Mimi laughed a bit as Biyomon stopped walking, and the others turned to her.

"Hold it, I have to stop," she panted, trying to catch her breath, "I just don't think that I can go any faster."

"You just have to think positive," Sora shrugged off, "Let's all pretend that it's raining."

"Yeah," Biyomon cheered as she began to nuzzle Sora, "that's a great idea! I simply adore the rain!"

"Me too, but it's time for a reality check. This isn't getting any better. It might be a good idea to turn around and get out of this desert right now!" Matt pointed out as Joe nodded.

"You mean before we all have a power outage? I'll vote for that," Tentomon muttered.

"Wait, hold on for just a second, everybody. If I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing…" Tai responded, looking through his telescope to check something.

"What is it, Tai?" Izzy asked.

"Mmm hmmm, it's not a mirage, it's real water!"

"Water?" Biyomon gasped.

"This is fantastic! Now all we need are some lemons, sugar and some big fat ice cubes!" Joe cheered.

"That looks like a village! Maybe we'll find people," Izzy realized.

"And shade!" Palmon chimed in.

"Maybe they'll have hats for sale. Hang on!" Mimi smiled.

"Water and food! I'm hungry enough to eat broccoli!" TK admitted.

"What's broccoli? Is that a joke?" Patamon asked.

"No, it's not," HG sighed.

"Great! Let's get outta this desert!" Tai shouted as the kids and Digimon cheered before heading for the village.

The kids and their Digimon had discovered a village, but it was not exactly what they thought they were going to find. The tiny huts were occupied by tiny, but friendly, Yokomon.

"From so far away, everything looks so big," Tai admitted.

"But they're so cute and tiny!" Mimi squealed.

"Okay, question. Who here knows where we can get a drink?" Biyomon checked with the Yokomon.

"And just what do giant digimon drink?" one Yokomon asked back, referring to Sora.

"Me? I'm no Digimon," Sora pointed out.

"My friend Sora is what's called a human being," Biyomon explained, "Yes, we know they look funny. In spite of this, they are all actually very nice."

"Do I really look that weird?" HG muttered to herself.

"What's a human being?" some of the other Yokomon inquired.

"If you are not Digimon, what are you doing here in Digi-world?" another asked.

"This is great. There is no way we are all going to fit into this place," Joe sighed.

"Relax, Joe. At least the natives here are friendly," Tai shrugged off.

"Oh, my! I would just love to take one home and put it on my bed with all my other stuffed animals!" Mimi replied.

"There she goes again. Do you think Mimi hears the same things we hear? I'm not sure anymore," Matt shrugged.

"Maybe she's an alien spy," Izzy muttered.

"TK is tired and hungry!" Patamon pointed out.

"He's not the only one," Joe added.

"Biyomon, just when did you digivolve?" a Yokomon asked.

"When I met Sora. We share a special bond which is magical," Biyomon answered.

"You don't talk like us anymore. Is that how all Biyomon talk?" another Yokomon inquired.

"No, it's how the big ones talk. I suppose I just picked it up from Sora. She is a wonderful and kind human being and I've already learned a lot from her."

"We still don't understand how you digivolved. What is it about being around human beings that makes it happen?" yet another Biyomon requested to know.

"Sora needed me. I had to protect her."

"She had to protect me?" Sora wondered.

"When she was in danger a power kept flowing through me. I didn't know what it was. I can't describe it, but all of a sudden I realized I'd digivolved."

"Wait a sec, now I get it," Sora realized, talking/thinking to herself, "That's why she's always following me around. Hmm. When Tai needed him, Agumon digivolved to Greymon to protect him, and Garurumon did the same for Matt, as well as HG in that same spot from Liollmon. They digivolve for us. We're lucky kids."

"Sora," Biyomon interrupted her thoughts, "We're invited to have dinner with the Yokos. They said they'd be willing to share their food with all of us."

"Oh wow."

All the kids cheered in response with Joe raising his fist in the air.

"Let's see hands if you want lemonade!" Joe shouted.

"I wonder what Yokomon eat," TK wondered aloud.

"I'll take a cheeseburger, fries and a shake," Tai smiled.

"I wonder what they will be serving," Izzy wondered, "Perhaps some bone with meat, lettuce topped with fish, and..."

"Water, water!" TK shouted as he ran off, interrupting Izzy's thoughts.

"Water?"

"Look everybody, a fresh water fountain! Hurray!"

"Oh, the water here is piped in from a spring at Mihirashi Mountain. It's the best water in the world!" a Yokomon smiled.

"Forget the world. Mount Mihirashi water is the best in all the galaxy," Tentomon chimed in.

"Where's Mount Mihirashi?" TK asked.

"Up there!" the Yokomon answered, turning to the direction of the grass-covered mountain they saw earlier.

"Hey, that's a live volcano!"

"How do you know that, TK?" HG wondered.

"Yes, but the heat boils away all the germs," a Yokomon added.

It wasn't long before the group all felt a rumbling as the water receded.

"If I'm not mistaken, that noise precedes an eruption!" Izzy deduced as suddenly, the group screamed and jumped back as a pillar of fire erupted from the village well.

"That's cool, but I still didn't get a drink," TK muttered.

"What is happening?" Tai gawked.

"The water evaporated!" a Yokomon answered. Huh, that was fast. They just saw it a few minutes ago.

"That's okay because the lake is always full of water," a second assured.

"I'll check it out," Tai assured.

"Let's all go," Sora responded, everyone rushing over as they saw HG already at the edge of the lake.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," HG pointed out as they soon saw the lake was... empty apart from a ship in there.

"The water's all gone!" Izzy gawked.

"Goodness, where did it go?" Mimi wondered.

"Somebody pulled the plug!" TK added.

"Alright, let's not panic." Tai assured.

Later, back at the Yokomon village, Tai lowered a bucket into the well. But it just fell and crashed at the bottom as only a thud and dust came up.

"Huh?" Tai gawked.

"Dry as a bone," Matt figured.

"I won't give up," Tai insisted as he pulled the rope back up, but found only a burned end where the bucket should be. Suddenly, another pillar of fire shot up from the well, and Tai jumped back, hopping from foot to foot.

"Look. Tai's doing a little dance for us! Is that supposed to stop the fire or bring down the rain?" Mimi partially joked.

"Hey! Do you remember that flying gear we saw earlier?" Matt suddenly recalled.

"What about it?" HG wondered.

"It crashed right into a hillside," Izzy added.

"Great. Of all the hillsides out there, the gear crashes into Mihirashi Mountain," Sora groaned.

"That's the place where the water comes from!" Joe realized.

"That's right," a Yokomon conformed, "The water comes from a lake on the top of Mount Mihirashi. So a gear crashing into the mountain could affect our water supply."

"Mmmm hmmm," Izzy nodded.

"We don't dare go up there. The mountain is guarded by a fiery digimon called Meramon. He's hideously dangerous!" Another Yokomon added in as Tai looked through his telescope.

"I want a closer look at that mountain. You say this character Meramon is a fiery digimon? What does he look like?" he asked when he suddenly saw a fiery humanoid sliding down the mountainside, "Nevermind, there he is! He's coming! He's coming our way!" Meramon was a literal walking bonfire!

"He burns up everything he touches! He never comes down off the mountain, though. This is very strange behaviour for him!" a Yokomon gawked.

"Oooh, I'm burning... too hot!" They heard Meramon cry out.

"Meramon is a fiery digimon. There's no reason he should be in pain from his own flames. That's his nature," Palmon gawked as Meramon cried out in pain.

"This is weird. He's crying!" Tai noticed somehow.

"Burning!" Meramon cried out.

"Sounds like he's out of his mind with pain," Sora noticed.

"What do we do?" Tai wondered.

"Burning, burning, burning!" Meramon continued to shout as he got closer.

"Look, he's coming straight toward the village!" Sora gawked.

"Hey, everybody. We'd better decide what we're going to do," Biyomon responded, "I've never seen him move so fast. He's already reached the foot of the mountain, and now he's starting to enter the forest!"

"Everybody, freeze! Stay very still," Sora said, trying to keep them calm as the group in the village remained motionless while Meramon rushed through the forest toward them.

"You're going to need more than sunscreen to stop me!" Meramon shouted, laughing maniacally.

"Don't move a muscle!" Sora told the others.

"I don't think it'll help," HG noted as Meramon soon got out of the forest.

"Agh! Burn, burn, burn!" Meramon screamed as Tai gasped.

"Ah! Unfreeze! And run!" Tai shouted.

The group, along with the entire village of Yokomon, ran from the laughing Meramon as fast as possible. They herded all of the Yokomon into the hull of the wrecked ship, lying dead in the desert.

"Come on, keep it moving!" Tai ordered.

"All the way to the rear!" Sora added.

"Okay, settle down, there's room for all of you! Will you please stop squirming!" Matt retorted while working to get all of the Yokomon together on the bow of the ship, Joe coming up with more of them.

"Here's the next batch, Matt," Joe called out.

"Easy now, you'll be okay," Tai encouraged.

"Who's not here?" Sora checked.

"Where's Biyomon?" Liollmon asked as Sora gasped, looking to the top of the cliff.

"This is bad! Run, come on!"

She looked shocked as she saw Biyomon at the top of the cliff herding the Yokomon down the edge to the ship below.

"Everyone, keep moving, now. Just follow the one in front of you," Biyomon told the Yokomon.

"Biyomon, save yourself! Come down while there's still time!" Sora cried out.

"I can't leave here until all my friends are safe, Sora!"

"Alright. I suppose I'll just have to come up there after you, then!"

"Hurry!" Tai shouted before realizing where Sora was going, "Sora, you'll never make it!"

"Hey, where is Sora going?" Joe asked.

"Sora! Come back!" Matt called out.

"Look! Meramon's in the village!" HG gasped as the Fire Digimon got closer to the lake.

In response, Sora started to run at top speed toward the cliff, where Biyomon had helped the last of the Yokomon down the edge and to the safety of the floor of the canyon.

"Ah, good. They're all safe now." Biyomon sighed with relief, oblivious to the increase in heat.

"Watch out!" Sora shouted as the huge, flaming figure appears on the cliff behind Biyomon, "Biyomon, he's right behind you!"

Biyomon managed to turn in time to see Meramon.

"Go away, Meramon, leave us alone! We're not bothering you!" The pink bird Digimon was puny compared to a titan like Meramon, but that wouldn't stop her from standing up to him. She felt the heavy heat radiating off his body with every step. No, she wouldn't flee. She had to protect the Yokomon! She had to protect Sora!

In response, with one swipe of his hand, Meramon sent Biyomon tumbling down the edge of the cliff.

"Biyo! Biyo, I'm coming, Biyo!" Sora cried as she leapt and caught Biyomon just before she hit the ground. It was too close. If Sora didn't make it, Biyomon would've gotten a sprain wing.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked.

"Sure. I hope I never do that again. It wasn't very fun," Biyomon nodded. Using humor to lighten the mood might be the right time, but she wanted to ensure Sora to not worry too much.

Sora laughed and picked Biyomon up in a hug.

"Thank you for coming to rescue me," Biyomon smiled.

"Don't mention it. That's what a friend is for," Sora replied as they hugged.

"You can say that again. My friend." Friend. She liked hearing it. It was comforting.

Meramon suddenly roared, and formed a fireball in his hand. That caught Biyomon's attention.

"Uh oh," she gawked, "We're still in great danger, Sora."

"What?" Sora gasped in confusion.

"You stay here. It's my turn to rescue you now."

With a determined face, Biyomon flew up to Meramon.

"You think you're really hot stuff, well you're in big trouble now. SPIRAL TWISTER! Ha!"

Meramon is pushed back by Biyomon's fire, but takes several more of Biyomon's attacks.

"Okay big red, take that! And that! And that!"

"Is that the best you have to offer, weakling?" Meramon scoffed, speaking from the corner of his mouth considering his lips appeared to be sewn shut.

"We gotta help her out. He's too big to handle!" Tai shouted.

"Yeah!" Izzy nodded.

"FIRE PALM! Catch!" Meramon shouted, launching the fireball at Biyomon, the bird falling from the sky.

"Oh no! She's hit! Biyomon..." Sora panicked.

"Come on, everyone! We can beat that monster," Tai responded.

"What we need is teamwork!" Izzy pointed out.

"I'm ready. Give me your best shot!" Meramon scoffed with a smirk.

Agumon fired a Pepper Breath attack, while Tentomon sent out a Super Shocker, Gabumon aimed a Blue Blaster, Liollmon leaped up to give a slash with his claws in what he called "Lio Claw", and Patamon blowed a Boom Bubble at Meramon. All the attacks hit, but the fiery Digimon only grew in size.

"We need a fire extinguisher!" Joe shouted.

"That made him bigger!" Matt pointed out.

"Yeah."

"Why do I suffer so?" Meramon cried.

"If we knew why he was crying, it might help to stop him," Tai replied.

"Uh, fire's not affecting him, I guess it's not heartburn," Izzy noted.

"Maybe this monster just has growing pains," Matt joked.

"Growing pains?" Izzy dryly retorted.

"Matt, this is not a time to joke!" Joe snapped.

"Better get ready, here I come!" Meramon shouted as he jumped down from the cliff, to where Tai, Izzy and Sora are with Agumon, Tentomon, Gabumon, Liollmon and Patamon. Biyomon looked up weakly from where she had fallen.

"Sora? We're all in trouble now. Meramon can not be allowed to win," Biyomon replied, turning around and standing tall, "My friends need my help now."

Sora's Digivice began to glow and send an energy into Biyomon in response, Izzy gasping at the sight.

"Biyomon digivolve to..." she started before growing into a giant bird covered in flames with her beak replaced with an oddly fleshy jaw with visible teeth, and massive talons, "Birdramon!"

"No!" Sora screamed when suddenly, she saw Birdramon forcing Meramon back up the slope with sheer brute strength, dropping him off at the top.

"We'll be safe now. Biyomon Digivolved to rescue us," Sora smiled.

"Biyomon turned into a phoenix?" HG gawked. Arise from the ashes, reborn a mighty phoenix.

"What's wrong Birdramon? Afraid of me? Let's fight!" Meramon mocked as Birdramon flew around, preparing another fireball, "Here, have a ball!"

The fireball hit Birdramon in the back.

"Don't turn your back!" Sora called out.

Meramon laughed as Birdramon came straight at him, but was hit head on with fireball after fireball.

"Birdramon, move away!" Sora shouted as Birdramon backed off, high into the sky above Meramon.

Her wings began glitter as she gathered her strength for an attack. Meramon's smile faded as several fireballs came at him at once. The force of the hits shrunk Meramon down to his normal size, and caused the black gear stuck in his back to fly out and be destroyed.

"It was a gear!" Izzy gawked.

"What is it?" Patamon checked.

"It made him crazy!"

"Right!" Tai nodded.

"I suppose if you had a big black gear stuck inside of you, you'd act a little crazy, too. The poor guy," Matt uttered.

"Yay! Biyomon did it!" TK cheered as, overhead, the huge figure of Birdramon shrank to Biyomon as Sora watched.

"Wow! Every time I'm in danger, Biyomon comes to my rescue! That's what I call a friend," Sora smiled.

"Are you alright? Oh, Sora!" Biyomon cried, flying into Sora's arms.

"Oh, B! I was so worried about you! You're great. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you."

"I wasn't the least bit afraid. All I could think about was saving you because... Well, you know."

As Sora and Biyomon hug, Sora smiles with a giggle.

As time passed, the fires vanished and the waters returned. The sun was soon setting back at the Yokomon village, where Meramon was sitting with his neighbors.

"Meramon, why did you attack our village?" a Yokomon asked.

"I couldn't stop myself," he panted.

"That must have been awful for you. If you couldn't control yourself, who was controlling you?"

"The last thing I remember is being hit by that gear."

"Well, we're just happy to see that you're back to normal. I hope nothing like this ever happens again. You're needed to protect Mount Mihirashi."

Later, as Meramon walked back to his mountain, the Yokomon and the Digi-Destined watched him leave.

"Goodbye, Meramon, may you always stay well. Goodbye! And please try not to burn down our village anymore, okay?" a Yokomon bid Meramon as he soon vanished in the distance back to the mountain.

"Hey! I just remembered you never got that dinner we promised you. You must be starving!" Biyomon realized.

"My tummy's ready for some action!" TK nodded as the group sat down... down to bowls of some mysterious Yokomon dish that looked like rice.

"What is this stuff?" Tai wondered.

"Be polite and just eat it. A gracious guest never insults his host's cooking," Mimi pointed out.

"Hm. I can't tell if it's even been cooked," Tai admitted.

"Eat as much as you want. We have more than enough for seconds," Biyomon smiled.

"Yeah, well, there's probably a good reason for that," Joe noted.

"You know, that's exactly what I was afraid you were going to say," Sora sighed.

"It smells better than broccoli. Who knows, might taste better!" TK soon smiled.

"Has anybody noticed? We talk a lot about food," Matt noticed before taking a handful of the stuff and eating.

"Why is that?" HG wondered.

"Not sure."

"Nah, I'm not hungry," Sora sighed.

"I'm skipping this one too. I just don't like to eat on an empty stomach," Joe shrugged off, slightly joking to be polite about declining the dish, "Besides, I don't even know what that stuff is, but I'm sure I'm allergic to it!"

Sora laughed a bit, then looked over at Biyomon.

'And so ends my biggest adventure yet with Biyomon. One thing's for certain. For being so little, she sure has a huge heart!' Sora thought with a smile on her face.


	5. Kabuterimon's Electro Shocker

**_I thank TKNRKRGaim,_ ** **_KTH4life_ ** **_and Black Cat Angel for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me._ **

**Kabuterimon's Electro Shocker**

"We passed this place before," Sora pointed out.

"You mean we've walked around the whole planet?" Joe gawked.

"That just can't be. I can't walk that far, can I? I'm so tired!" Mimi whined.

Mimi stopped for a rest followed by Gomamon and TK. Gomamon was panting and crawling like he was out of water.

"My feet are hot," TK complained.

"Looks like we're taking a break," Matt figured.

"Well, it's not like we have some place to be," Sora shrugged.

"I guess you're right. There's no reason to hurry," Tai agreed as HG sunk to her knees.

"I'd keep going if I wasn't so hot," she panted, exhausted.

"Come on, come on!" Izzy muttered, trying to work on his computer, "Aw man, still no good." His computer was the one thing he could count on. Without it... without it... he'd have to (shudder) socialize. Sure Izzy was familiar with a few kids in the group, but they didn't get him. He's not the athletic type and he clearly would rather stay in his room and conduct theories, search through the internet for knowledge, crack codes in the system, etc. The sun's radiant wave doesn't bode well to his battery. Please don't leave, sweet beautiful device.

"Check out Izzy! I bet he's trying to email the aliens," Matt joked.

"I bet he's asking them to beam him up," Tai added as Izzy just got another issue with the laptop.

"Darn, it's still not working, and the warranty expired," Izzy groaned.

"Hey, I know how to get it working," Tai suggested, grabbing the laptop as he began smacking it, "You just gotta give it a couple subtle adjustments."

"Hey! Stop that!" Izzy snapped, swiping his laptop back, "Are your brain cells malfunctioning!?" Why couldn't Tai understand how expensive his laptop was? His parents would ground him until he went to his dream university, or until he gets a well paying career.

"What's the deal, Izzy? It's just a dumb computer."

"Too bad your brain isn't as big as your hair," Sora mocked, "Maybe Izzy doesn't want smudges and dents on his computer."

"Huh?" Tai responded with a huff, "Hey, look! Do you guys see that smoke over there? I'll check it out!"

"Wait for me, Tai!" Agumon called out.

"The attention span of a gnat," Joe sighed.

"Ah, whatever," Matt shrugged.

"We got graphics, we got sound. Beautiful! Up and running!" Izzy smiled as his laptop finally turned on, but his smile flipped when he saw the icon in the corner, "But it indicates the battery needs recharging..."

"Hey, everybody! Get over here!" Tai called out.

"Huh?"

"We're coming, Tai!" Sora cried out as everyone soon ran towards Tai before they saw a factory building over the horizon with smoke stacks, metal paneling, and large fuel tanks.

"Looks like some kind of factory," Joe realized.

"Let's hope they can manufacture a way for us to get home," Matt added.

"And let's hope they have some air conditioning," HG added.

"I wonder what they make in there," Joe pondered aloud.

"I don't know, but wouldn't it be great if there was a Manufacturer's Outlet Store? They always have killer deals!" Mimi smiled.

"Don't ask me how, but there doesn't seem to be anybody here," Matt noticed as they began searching around the humongous metal factory, but just found a lack of any other living presences, the sounds of the gears that were turning and conveyor belts moving being the only other noises in the air.

"There's gotta be someone running the equipment," Sora pointed out.

"I don't know. It appears to be doing quite well all by itself," Izzy noted as they examined everything including a conveyor belt carrying a large hunk of metal with a set of mechanical arms placing a piece at the top, front and side of the piece, the process repeating all the while.

"Matt, what are the machines making?" TK asked.

"You got me. Maybe parts for robots or spaceships," Matt shrugged.

"Somebody's gotta be moving those belts, and people gotta eat!" Joe insisted, "So, is there a cafeteria in this place? Because we could really use a good meal!"

And so, the team all split into groups with Tai, Sora and Joe going one way and Matt, TK, HG, Mimi and Izzy going the other before they found a room labeled Power Supply R.

"I say we go inside and have a look around," Patamon suggested as Matt opened the door, the group looking in awe at what appeared to be a giant battery surrounded by pipes and wires.

"Prodigious! With a battery like that, I could run my computer for a decade! I wonder if I can tap into its charge to power my laptop," Izzy gawked.

Everyone else just watched as Izzy began feeling around the battery.

"What are you doing, Izzy?" Matt asked.

"I'm trying to tap into this power source. If we can get this baby to fire up, we can use my computer to get some help."

Matt, TK, HG, Mimi and their Digimon just sighed and left Izzy in the back in the power supply room. Since no one knew computers more than Izzy, they left him alone with the enormous battery. It was best to leave him to his devices and focus on the first objective; finding a cafeteria, if this place even had one.

"C'mon. Let's see if there's a way to get home from here," Matt muttered.

However, HG just stood there, looking down with no one noticing her not moving... at least until TK looked back.

"HG?" he asked HG, "What's wrong?"

"If I say this, I don't want you to think I'm selfish," she admitted. What would their reaction be if she told her friends her input?

"C'mon, HG. We're friends here. You can be honest."

"The truth is, I don't really want to go home." there she goes, she told them.

"Huh?! But-but why not?!" Mimi gawked. Of course, he'll outburst.

"If I go back, I'll just be ignored again."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Matt retorted, surprising her, "Didn't you say TK and I are your friends? Well, if we're your friends... how can you possibly be ignored?"

"Have you forgotten my parents?" HG pointed out.

"We can't help there, but we can at least alleviate the pains."

HG sighed and looked away.

"I'm sorry for doubting you guys," she said. "I just..."

"It's okay," Mimi hugged her.

HG smiled as she joined the others in watching the construction. Right, she had friends now. They were different from her parents. At least they cared enough to give her a hug; and what warm hug it was. It beat the chill coming from inside the factory.

"This place would make a lot more sense if there was a tour guide to explain it. You know, maybe with a little plaid outfit, and a bull horn," Mimi figured.

As HG and others watched the construction, her partner, Liollmon, wanted to ask her what was going on between her friendships and having a will to go home, even though she wouldn't.

"What's wrong, HG? Everything okay?" Liollmon asked.

"I don't know, Liollmon. I just don't know," HG sighed.

"Listen. If you really want to go home, I'll be right here..." he pointed at her heart. "In your heart. Or you can stay here, and we'll find even more friends we have in the Digital World. It's up to you."

HG sighed and nodded when the lights shut off suddenly leaving Matt, TK, HG and Mimi shocked.

"What's going on? Why are the lights shut off?" HG gawked.

"I dunno... Something weird's happening!" TK added as the four looked around, and almost immediately the lights turned back on and the factory kicked back into gear.

"They didn't pay their power bill, is that it?" Mimi guessed.

"You have no imagination, you know that?" Matt joked.

"Yep. That was definitely weird," HG nodded.

"I'll say," TK agreed.

Later, down the conveyor belt.

"Boy, that's productive. This thing puts them together then takes them apart again. What's the point of it all?" Matt wondered.

"Maybe a chain reaction going on and off, I guess?" Mimi figured.

"Well, whatever this is, we might need to investigate this suspicious activity going on in there..." Gabumon shrugged as they found another door.

"Should we go in?" Matt asked.

"I'm afraid so, Matt."

"I don't think we need to waste time any longer! C'mon!" Patamon insisted as with that, Mimi, Matt, TK, HG and their partners went to the construction site.

"Boy, I've got a bad feeling about this..." Palmon muttered.

"Me too, Palmon. Me too..." Mimi agreed.

"Hmm. This site looks normal, but I'm not sure if it really is," Matt noted as they were soon led outside where they ended up lounging against the rail of a balcony.

"Man, am I bored! Grey is my least favorite color, and all this deconstruction is so ten minutes ago. Why are we still here?" Mimi asked.

"We're here because we're trying to figure out what gets built in this factory. So far, it just seems designed to put things together and take them apart," Matt answered.

"I really, really hope they designed it with a door," TK added, Patamon resting on his head.

"There is no door," Matt retorted, "It's based on perpetual motion. Nothing ever stops or leaves this place."

Izzy then came running out of the facility, followed by Tentomon.

"Guys, hey guys! You'll never believe what I found out!" Izzy called out.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

"Well, the computer program that is operating this factory is also producing the generating power that keeps it going! Even more incredible, in Digiworld, basic data and simple information is a living, viable substance! It's alive!"

Suddenly, Tai's group came running, all of them breathing hard.

"Hey you guys! Listen up!" Tai panted.

"Man, I don't like the sound of that!" Matt muttered.

"This better sound true!" HG gulped.

"We have got to get out of here, now!" Tai shouted.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked when they heard a rumbling and saw a tall, cyborg-like Digimon coated in armor in an asymmetrical design burst out of the floor, ripping through steel paneling, the group screaming in fright, with Tai's group skidding to a stop.

"Capture intruders. Sensors detect hostility. Bring intruders into firing range," the Digimon shouted as he looked at Matt, Izzy, Mimi, HG and TK.

"Uh, Mister Whatevermon, are you talking to us?" Mimi asked, nervously.

"Bring missiles to position!" the biomechanical Digimon shouted as a panel over his chest popped open and two eyeless fish things with long antennae and wide mouths popped out of two large holes in his chest, "Fire!"

The things confirmed to be missiles were launched, the five kids screaming as four of them dodged, but TK was frozen in place.

"Matt! Help!" TK cried.

"TK!" Matt shouted as his Digivice glowed.

"Gabumon, Digivolve to Garurumon!"

Garurumon quickly knocked the missiles out of the air as one exploded in midair while the other changed course then aimed at Tai, opening its mouth to reveal a gatling gun that fired off a ton of air bullets.

"Agumon, Digivolve to Greymon!"

Izzy gawked as he saw the Digivices glow while Greymon hit the missile with his tail to make it explode.

"Who challenges Andromon?" the cyborg Digimon shouted as Garurumon jumped in front with Greymon coming from behind, but Andromon blocked both attacks and soon knocked them both off the balcony before jumping after them.

"Weaklings! Rah!" Andromon roared as the kids ran to the edge.

"Get him, Greymon!" Tai cheered.

"Recycle that hunk of tin!" Matt added.

"You puny ones dare to challenge me?" Andromon demanded, the Digimon having trouble getting to their feet.

Garurumon, though, started to attack Andromon as best as he could.

"Lightning Blade!" Andromon shouted as his hand spun, creating an electric attack that hit Garurumon in the forehead.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon shouted as he fired his attack, but Andromon blocked it with a punch.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon roared as Andromon kicked away the fire.

"He's more powerful than either of our Digimon," Matt gawked.

"Maybe it's because he's all machine. It's almost like he's Digivolved beyond the other Digimon," Sora figured.

"Is it possible that we could lose?" Tai gulped, watching Greymon charge forward, but Andromon caught the dinosaur by his jaws.

Garurumon tried to attack from behind when Andromon flipped Greymon over his shoulder and smashed the two Digimon together.

"He's beaten them both now!" Tai shouted, clenching his fists.

"It's like there's no hope!" Matt sapped.

"Try reentering that program that activated your Digivice!" Tentomon suggested to Izzy.

"What for?" Izzy asked.

"I believe that's the key to my Digivolving."

"Yes," Izzy nodded, pressing the power button before he began to type fast, "It's gotta work! If I can just recall the exact sequence..."

As he worked, lines of text began drifting on his screen as Izzy's Digivice soon glowed and sent data to Tentomon, who also began glowing around the breaks in his exoskeleton.

"We cracked the program!" Izzy gasped.

"Tentomon, Digivolve to..." Tentomon shouted before glowing, growing into a larger blue rhino beetle with a large slender frame apart from his massive, one-horned head, "Kabuterimon!"

The new bug joined in with Greymon and Garurumon who were still down to fight against Andromon.

Andromon noticed at the last second and jumped aside as Kabuterimon hit his head on the ground before quickly flying up and turning around. However, he was soon caught by the horn, pushed back, and twisted to the side by Andromon, with claw marks being left on the ground.

"Bring missiles to position! Fire!" Andromon shouted, launching the missiles.

"Doesn't that Andromon ever run out of gas?" Joe gawked when Izzy gasped, seeing a spark of electricity coming from Andromon's knee.

"That's it!" Izzy shouted as he turned to Kabuterimon, "Cut his power! Demobilize his right leg and you'll disable his energy source!"

Kabuterimon soon whirled and knocked the missiles aside before charging an electrical blast.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER! Rah!" Kabuterimon roared as the blast hit Andromon's knee, making the cyborg scream as a black gear was launched out of his leg.

"He stripped a gear," Matt gawked as the gear dissolved to dust.

"Incredible..." HG added.

"That must have hurt," Sora winced.

"That's wicked!" Tai added as Andromon fell to his knees, his power draining as the blue glow from his eyes faded.

Later, once Andromon recovered, he stood before the kids.

"That black gear reprogrammed my systems somehow. I'm normally a nonviolent Digimon," Andromon explained.

"You could have fooled us," Tai admitted.

"No kidding," Sora nodded, turning to Joe, "I told you he's a Digimon and not an android."

"I never meant to hurt anyone," assured Andromon.

"Don't give it another thought. Hey, we all make mistakes," Matt assured.

"I can't answer your questions about who made this place or what it's for, but I can be of some help. The easiest way to escape from here is to follow the underground waterway," Andromon informed, directing the kids to an open pipe, "The labyrinth begins just beyond this point."

"Thanks for the help, Andromon," Tai smiled.

"I hope you all find your way home. And no matter what, try to remember the big guy who turned out to be not so bad."

"There's one thing you can count on. We'll never forget you, Andromon."

Later, the kids finished walking through the pipeline before ending up in what looked like a sewer tunnel.

"I know I can do this. Really, I can," Mimi hyped herself, "Ok, ready, set, go."

She then jumped, landing only maybe a foot down onto the brick below.

"Ok, that only took four minutes," Tai joked, "Let's get out of here."

"Am I the only one that finds strolling leisurely through the sewers just the slightest bit disgusting?" Joe asked.

"Tell me the truth, Izzy. Was it your computer that made Tentomon turn into a superhero?" TK asked.

"Prodigious, huh?" Izzy smiled.

"Would your computer make Patamon become a superhero?"

"I suppose that is possible."

"Wow, ok."

"Let's see," Izzy muttered, trying to turn on his laptop when he noticed something.

"What's happening?" TK asked.

"That's strange," Izzy muttered, typing away.

"Hey."

"The program's right, but nothing is happening."

"Just give it a few whacks! That'll do it," Tai offered, standing nearby with his fist up.

"Let us try," Agumon offered, hand raised as well with Izzy looking back and forth between the two before he managed to dodge Tai and Agumon, who just hit each other in the head. Nope, not again! No one was touching Izzy's baby!

"Ooh! That's gotta hurt!" HG winced. She felt that bump coming.

"Seriously," Liollmon nodded.

"Sorry guys, but a computer is not a toy," Izzy pointed out as the two who hit each other had big lumps on their heads. How strange, though. It worked phenomenal on Tentomon. Ended with prodigious results. His Digimon evolved to the next stage. Thinking back, Tai's, Matt's, and HG's Digimon digivolved without using codes. Could it be there is something more to it than science? Perhaps continuing on the journey to a way home would help Izzy understand their Digimon partners.

"Now that you boys have holes in your head, maybe your brains will get enough oxygen," Sora joked, making the others all laugh.


	6. Togemon in Toy Town

**I thank TKNRKRGaim, KTH4life and Black Cat Angel for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me. The English lyrics of 'Tori No Uta' belong to Magical Girl Caroline of YouTube.**

**Togemon in Toy Town**

'Of all the strange things that happened to us on Digimon Island, I never expected to find a secret admirer in the sewer...' Mimi muttered to herself as the Digidestined and Digimon were walking in the sewer. Her outfit wasn't sewer proof; her clothes would reek, her shoes were going to smogde, and her hair would get frizzy. How could anyone stand walking here? Their noses probably were immune or they couldn't smell in general.

"Ok, everybody, let's sing the song that Agumon wrote for us!" Tai called out.

"Digimon eat and Digimon fight, Digimon digivolve and fight all night," the group all sang in unison.

"Singing sure is fun!" Palmon smiled.

"Now let's try some solo performances, starting with Mimi," Agumon suggested.

"Nah, I think it's ME who wants to have a solo, right?" HG interjected, every one of the human kids getting weird faces more at the suggestion of Mimi singing.

"Mimi?" Tai gawked.

'Mimi?' Sora repeated.

'Singing?' Matt questioned.

'Mercy!' Joe pleaded.

"Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roooooooam!" Mimi sang.

"Avoiding your drone!" Joe sang in a sort of mocking tone.

"Hey, come on, I had music lessons for three years."

"Oh you did? Did it help?" TK asked.

"Ha, Mimi you should get a refund, that's what I think," Izzy retorted.

"I agree with Izzy on that one," HG pointed out.

"Then why don't you sing, HG?" Sora asked, HG smiling before clearing her throat, then singing.

_"Gazing at the sunset beyond_

_Watching trails of vapor fade into dusk_

_Everything so dazzling and bright_

_In my weakness I just ran away_

_I had to let go_

_All of this time_

_Couldn't change the fact I knew in my heart_

_Ever since those days in the past_

_Couldn't keep myself from changing_

_Forever"_

"Wow! I didn't know you could sing beautifully like that, HG!" Liollmon gawked.

"Maybe you could go for a record deal, HG!" Matt complimented.

"Nah, I think she's too young to do that," Tai shrugged.

"Tai, would you just give her a chance? Please? Besides, HG's trained more on singing than Mimi usually is..." Sora countered.

"Hey, no fair!" Mimi pouted as HG blushed and looked away.

"Let's sing as a group, next!" Sora insisted.

"Let's go!" Tai shouted as the kids all began to march and sing.

"Digimon fight and Digimon fly, Digimon digivolve an-" they all sang when-

"Ahh! Stop it!" Sora shouted before starting to cry, the other kids stopping and looking at her in confusion.

"Huh?! Sora, what's wrong?" HG asked.

"Awwww..." Agumon and Biyomon said worriedly.

"Sora, are you all right?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, what's the matter?" Matt added.

"Well, some water fell from up there..." Sora muttered as water dripped from the ceiling and onto her shirt.

"That made you scream?" Izzy asked, pointing to the wet spot.

"Yeah...no...uh..." she muttered, sheepishly wiping the spot off while Tai and the others look on worriedly before Sora sighed, "I used to sing at home. I used to sing to myself all the time when I would do my chores, especially when I'd hang clothes to dry outside, I'd sing really loud 'cause...nobody could hear me then."

She couldn't help but have watery eyes with this thought in her mind.

"It's ok to miss your home, Sora. What do you miss, Tai?" Agumon asked.

"Hmm? I miss playing sports and then taking a nice hot bath," Tai smiled.

"Games...my games...I wasn't far from beating Matt on my videogames," TK added, his fingers moving like he was using a controller.

"Beating me, TK? Gee, I don't think so. Maybe in your dreams, kiddo, hahahaha!" Matt smirked as he bent down to his bro's level a moment, soon laughing.

"So you don't miss ANYTHING from home, Matt?" Agumon asked, Matt instantly turning serious in response.

"Well, actually, now that you mention it...I've...been dreaming about Sundays... when my mom cooked steaks!" Matt admitted, smiling at the thought as he almost drooled, "Mmmm! Makes my mouth water!"

"Is food all you can think about back home?" HG wondered aloud.

"Hey, I can dream, can't I?" Matt shrugged.

"That's not what I was aiming for," HG admitted.

"Then what were you aiming for, HG?" Liollmon inquired.

"Well, I do have one special memory from back home I can't forget," HG admitted.

"What kind?" her partner asked.

"One time, me and my family went to a zoo at nighttime. I got lost and didn't think my parents would notice I wasn't there. Then, when I opened my eyes, I saw fireflies," she noted, smiling at the thought of the lightning bugs.

"Whoa... Amazing! How many did you see?" the lion cub asked excitedly.

"So many, I couldn't count. Anyway, they led my direction to the lions. I could see the fireflies shine in their eyes."

"Man, I sure wish I could see them every night..."

"These lions were like- like- my one big happy family... And ever since then, I've snuck out at night to see the fireflies."

"Uh... Lions?" Sora questioned.

"Fireflies?" Matt added to the confusion.

"Well, yeah," HG nodded.

"I wonder if I were to see fireflies in the Digital World..." Liollmon added in wonderment.

"I miss doing my homework," Joe admitted, pushing up his glasses, "If I fall too far behind I might have to go to a-junior college!"

"I don't miss school..." Mimi shrugged off in disgust before smiling at another thought, "But I do miss going on vacation, mm! Nothing beats having a cool drink on a summer day at the beach! I just love the ocean air!"

"Wow, that sounds like fun, Mimi!" TK smiled.

"It is!"

"Get a grip!" Izzy retorted, impatient and irritated before admitting, "I miss accessing satellites to look at the stars and planets."

All the kids then sighed in unison, depressed.

"They really DO come from another world!" Agumon realized.

"That is why they are depressed," Gabumon added.

"Poor kids," Gomamon sighed.

However, further down the dark tunnel, the Digimon began to hear some noises.

"Quiet! Listen everyone!" Tentomon shushed as the group of eighteen all heard angry yells, not paying attention to the slime falling from the ceiling.

"Ee-yuck!" Mimi responded in disgust.

"Numemon..." Gabumon realized.

"Numemon?" Matt repeated.

"They're really disgusting Digimon who live down here in the sewers," Gomamon explained.

"That's gross!" Tai reacted

"And so are they," Tentomon added.

"Ugh! That's the kind of pet I do NOT want!" HG gagged.

"Are they really strong?" TK asked.

"No, they're weak, but smelly, just wait till they get closer!" Agumon replied.

"Then what do you say we leave? Or, am I the only one who doesn't want to get stomped by stinky sewer-dwellers?" Joe asked as Patamon made a noise of fear.

It wasn't long before they saw one of these green slime/slug-like Digimon with purple spots, giant mouths with pearly white teeth and long tongues, their purple eyes on antennae. One soon turned into three, and three into eight, and eightinto a huge mass of Numemon, all squirming with their stumpy arms flailing around.

"And there are so many of them..." Agumon gawked as the Numemon were quickly approaching, alarming Agumon more, "Hurry, ruuuuun!"

The group were all quick to start running away in response.

"If they're not strong why do we have to run from them?" Tai asked, looking back.

"You'll see! Keep running!" Agumon insisted as the kids and Digimon continued to run to the tunnel's nearest exit.

"Let 'em have it!" one of Numemon shouted as the sludge army were in hot pursuit and then started flinging gross pink sludge at everyone.

'These sewer-dwelling Numemon were like, totally hygiene-deficient. They love throwing Nume Sludge at you...and they have bad breath, too!' Mimi narrated in disgust as the kids running for dear life.

"Let's keep moving!" Gabumon shouted as sludge splattered on the wall.

"Ehhhhh!" Mimi screeched as absolute confusion followed, the mass of individuals running making it hard to make everything out.

"We gotta get outta here!" Joe freaked out.

"Move it, move it!" Sora shouted.

"Get going!" Izzy added

"Run!" Tai ordered, the group still running down the tunnel, and then, the kids and their Digimon saw a little light as they came out of the sewers.

"Hey!" TK shouted, skidding to a stop in front of a tunnel exit, "This-a-way!"

The kids madly dash in, all of them panting while still on the move, despite the Numemon still following. The DigiDestined and their Digimon made it outside in the bright sunlight and sighed with relief. The Numemon, once seeing the sunlight, however, screamed, stopped, and immediately retreated back into the tunnels.

"Huh?" Tai responded with confusion.

"The only thing that's able to drive 'em away is the sunshine!" Agumon explained, allowing Tai a sigh of relief.

"That was close!" HG responded.

"Yeah!" Liollmon agreed.

'Thank goodness! We finally escaped those Numemons, once we got outside! We didn't see anything for miles, until we saw the strangest thing,' Mimi thought/narrated as the group continued walking along a path with dead grass and a quietly flowing stream.

They soon came across a field of vending machines, all panting, they then gasped in surprise at the sight.

"There must be thousands of them!" Mimi gawked. Yay, drinks! Something normal among the crazies! Then again... not many vending machines were never in the same spot like a school of fish but she was thirsty anyway so who cared!

"I'd say under a hundred," Joe shrugged

"Or...maybe just 50," Izzy estimated.

"How did they get there?" TK asked.

"I bet there's enough snacks to last us a lifetime...at least," Mimi smiled, happy to see something familiar.

"Mimi, they probably don't work. Don't you remember the phone booths?" Tai pointed out.

"Hey that could be, I bet it's a trick, Mimi," Palmon affirmed Tai's point.

"I won't accept that!" Mimi snapped as she ran down toward vending machines, laughing excitedly and leaving everyone behind, Palmon gasping as she followed.

"Even if they're real, you know they're not plugged in!" Joe shouted after Mimi, who ignored him.

"Mimi-!" Tai snapped. Geez, why can't that girl listen to reason?

"You can't stop her...she's so stubborn," Sora sighed.

"Maybe Mimi's an airhead," HG shrugged.

After browsing, Mimi and Palmon chose a machine.

"Yay, soda. You want one?" Mimi asked.

"No I don't!" Palmon insisted, arms crossed.

"You don't have to bite my head off. Hmm...mmmhmm!"

Mimi soon inserted a coin, but then the whole front of the vending machine slammed down to the ground. Palmon and Mimi let out a yelp and ran out of the way, the two finding a Numemon inside.

"Hey, cutie pie, haha!" the Numemon laughed.

"It's their leader," Palmon realized.

"Their leader?! He couldn't lead a pack of show poodles, even with his doggie breath!" Mimi retorted.

"Hey, let me take you out on a date," the Numemon offered with a sick grin despite his mouth being open all the time. Oh gross! Uber nasty! So not her Prince Charming!

"I think he likes you. It's gotta be the hat," Palmon guessed.

"What? What are you thinking? I wouldn't go NEAR that short, slimy, sewer-sliding sludge-slinger!" Mimi snapped.

"Mimi, you'll make him mad."

"Who cares! Besides, we're safe in the sunlight-"

Before Mimi could finish, they heard thunder overhead, the two soon seeing clouds roll across the sky towards the sun.

"Huh?" Palmon gawked.

"Uh oh..." the two gulped.

"Um...we were!" Mimi nervously added.

"How dare you call me short? The date's off!" the Numemon leader shouted, throwing sludge as Mimi and Palmon yelled.

"Not again!" Palmon screeched, dodging the sludge.

"Run!" Mimi screamed as they ran.

"Party time!" the Numemon leader called out, as more Numemon came out from vending machines to join in with the fight.

"Ahhhhh!" all of the other kids and Digimon screamed in shock, Mimi and Palmon running away, also screaming.

"How did THEY get HERE?" Sora gawked.

"Who cares, run, run!" Mimi screeched, running by her friends before, once again, the DigiDestined and their partners were running away from a swarm of Numemons, chasing after them.

"Run!" Tai shouted as everyone screamed more.

"All right, everybody, let's split up!" Matt suggested.

"Yeah!" Tai agreed as they ran, panting, still managing to split up.

"That was a closer one!" HG panted.

"Yeah..." Liollmon agreed.

As they walked, HG and Liollmon heard two huge, thick, yellow legs stop behind them with a loud thud.

"Huh?" HG gawked.

"What was that?!" Liollmon gawked.

They looked behind them and gasped to see what appeared to be a giant yellow teddy bear with red eyes and a white belly with a bandage over a spot on his belly.

"Come visit us at Toy Town," the large teddy said aloud.

"Hmm? What's a Toy Town?" HG wondered.

"I think it's a place where all toys are played with," Liollmon figured.

"And who's this?"

"That's a Monzaemon. He's in charge of Toy Town."

"Right you are, Liollmon," Monzaemon smiled.

"Gee, I--- I didn't know. But--- Let me introduce myself. My name's HG. Nice to meet you," HG greeted as Monzaemon seemed pleased to hear this.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion of dust, HG and Liollmon running away from the walking Teddy bear.

"What is this?!" HG shouted.

"I don't know!" Liollmon added as he ran alongside her.

Laser beams jet out from Monzaemon's eyes and blaze a trail after them.

"Please, come spend a fun day in Toy Town with me!" the teddy repeated.

"Your lasers are saying otherwise!" HG retorted, trying to get away.

"C'mon, HG! This way!" Liollmon shouted, as they ducked behind a tree, "Okay, I think we're safe."

Before they knew it, they got knocked out, letting out an 'oof!' as Monzaemon walked past them.

XXXXXXXXXX

The girl and lion cub groaned a bit as they slowly woke up.

"What happened?" HG asked, rubbing her head.

"You've been knocked out cold," a voice said, HG turning to see a Numemon, making her gasp and back off. "Howdy!"

"Whatever you want, whatever it is, stop chasing us!" HG pleaded.

"Yeah, you creep!" Liollmon added.

"What's your name, human kid?" the Numemon asked, surprising her while she still backed off.

"It's HG. Why do you want to know?" HG demanded as Liollmon gulped.

"Well, I just wanted to welcome you to Toy Town!" Numemon answered.

"Why? So you can throw that stuff at us, again? How do I know this isn't a trick?"

"I can take a hint," a voice interrupted, as the Numemon stepped aside as a stuffed panda looking Digimon similar to Monzaemon, but with orange eyes and a scarf emerged.

"Who are you?" HG asked.

"Name's Pandamon, babe," the bear answered, "You?"

"'Babe?'" HG gawked, a bit flustered at the remark.

"Don't worry. I've got your back," Pandamon assured as he winked at her.

"Oi! Watch it, pal," Liollmon growled, offended.

"'Ey! Numemon! Why don't you leave her alone?"

"Hold on! I wanted 'em to come with me!" Numemon retorted.

"I don't know what's going on, Liollmon," HG admitted.

"Maybe they came to save us or control us!" Liollmon shrugged.

"'Ey! I know both of ya don't know what's goin' on, but I'm gonna have to take y'all to my boss!" Pandamon retorted.

"Your boss?" HG checked

"You mean Monzaemon?" Liollmon asked.

"That's right," Pandamon confirmed, "My friend and boss, Monzaemon. We've got some explaining to do..."

"But he was trying to zap us," HG pointed out.

"Oh, relax, babe. A little zap is not gonna hurt ya..."

"Sorry, but I'm not like you! I can't handle stuff like this!"

"Yeah... Just let her go!" Liollmon added.

"Shut it, Liollmon! I wasn't talkin' to you," Pandamon scolded as HG, fed up with this nonsense, just growled in annoyance.

"Come with us, toots!" Pandamon responded, taking her arm.

"No! Let me go!" HG snapped. Why did they need her? She needed to find her friends! Who knows what danger lurks.

"Wait!" Liollmon shouted in response, getting the bear's attention.

"Yes?" Pandamon asked.

"What's going on here? Monzaemon never behaved like this," Liollmon demanded to know.

"Just relax, Liollmon. We'll take it from here," Pandamon tried to assure, but HG just stood her ground.

"Explain," HG demanded, making the bear sigh before going in depth.

"Monzaemon is the ruler of this place. Once any human enters in Toy Town, they would of course be under the control of Monzaemon himself, and let children play with all the toys without ever leaving here."

"They'll be hopping around like little bunnies all day long!" Numemon added, laughing away.

"They'll be what?!" HG gawked.

"That means they'll stay here until they disappear."

"No!" HG screamed, trying to break out of Pandamon's grasp again.

"Why?!!" Liollmon gawked.

"So what do you say, HG? You'll enjoy your stay, right?" Pandamon asked, ignoring the resistance.

"No! I won't! If that's what's happening to my friends, I have to help them before it's too late!" HG shouted, again trying to break out of Pandamon's grip.

"Right! Me too! Because I'm her partner!" Liollmon retorted proudly, Pandamon realizing there was no convincing them before sighing.

"Then can I at least tell you guys the truth?" he asked, leaving HG and Liollmon to look confused.

"The truth? How?" they asked in unison.

"At first, when I was young, I didn't know where my life headed. I was orphaned," Pandamon admitted and explained, "I was outcast. All alone. With no Pandamon relatives of mine. That was, until I found Monzaemon in Toy Town. I found him as a father-figure. He raised me as his own. And all I could think of is... Boy, I think Toy Town would be a great place to live, so I stayed there." The panda Digimon sounded proud and spoke of the giant teddy bear with such praise.

The kid and lion cub looked to each other a moment before Pandamon continued.

"However... something changed one day. I don't know what exactly happened, but Monzaemon started to get more aggressive. He wanted to bring others to Toy Town, but was forcing others to play with the toys whether they wanted to or not." Just like before. So, Monzaemon wasn't always a tyrannical bear. His behavior suddenly changed. Was it because there are hardly any children visiting Toy Town? Was that the reason behind his attacks?

"The only way to stop those kids from disappearing is by a mellow, singing voice," Pandamon informed.

"Hold on a second!" HG shouted, getting Pandamon's attention.

"Hmm?"

"That would be me, right?"

"Yes," the panda nodded.

"Please, allow me."

This surprised Pandamon, but he just shrugged.

"Alright. Whatever you say," Pandamon relented.

"Only one thing. You have to get up high to do it," Numemon pointed out.

"What do you mean high?" HG asked.

XXXXXXXXXX

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" HG shouted as the group were now on top of a very tall building in Toy Town.

The town itself looked like it was made entirely out of toys, lego blocks and all, with theirs being the tallest, resembling a clock tower.

"The reason we're up here is so your song can reach all of Toy Town and help stop the chaos down below and put your friends to sleep," Pandamon informed.

"How will I know if this works?" HG asked.

"You'll either know, or you won't," Pandamon informed, "This just requires a little faith."

HG sighed before taking a breath to prepare. And so, she began to sing.

_"Gazing at the sunset beyond_

_Watching trails of vapor fade into dusk_

_Everything so dazzling and bright_

_In my weakness I just ran away_

_I had to let go_

_All of this time_

_Couldn't change the fact I knew in my heart_

_Ever since those days in the past_

_Couldn't keep myself from changing_

_Forever~"_

She sang as down below, her friends who were mostly under a weird trance, running from living toys like they were playing, stopped to listen.

The only one not in the trance was Mimi, and she and Palmon were quick to notice the voice in the air, faster than the others.

"Is that HG?" Mimi realized, gasping, "Oh yeah! Liollmon wasn't in the chest with Agumon and the others, right?"

"Yeah, that must mean he and HG are around here somewhere," Palmon added.

"Let's go find her!" Mimi shouted as they ran off to find the source as the other hypnotized kids looked up to the sound.

_"This small, precious bird can't fly_

_She is waiting on the ground_

_And yet_

_Someday she will feel her wings_

_Cutting through the wind"_

The hypnotized kids then started to fall down and go to sleep.

_"A far distant place is there_

_So unreachable, but she's_

_Dreaming_

_She's wishing her secret wish_

_As she gazes ahead"_

The others began to dream, with Tai dreaming of soccer balls that he kicked and Sora dreaming of flowers she was rearranging around.

_"The children walk along_

_The summer railway_

_Their bare feet racing with the wind_

_All their cares blowing far away"_

Matt dreamed of playing in a band with a variety of instruments, and Izzy worked on every computer he could imagine.

_"There, in the past_

_We place our childhood days_

_And our hands now hold the hope_

_That will spring forth forever more"_

Joe began to dream of working on making medicine while TK bounced around with a bunch of teddy bears.

_"Chasing, chasing our memories_

_Like the trails of vapor fading to dusk_

_All the things we love stayed the same_

_Since the day we climbed that grassy hill_

_They'll stay forever_

_And so we_

_Always have those trails of memories_

_Drawing on the strength of the sea_

_With it's blessing we'll protect them_

_Forever"_

Mimi finally looked up to her hiding spot and gawked.

"Well, I'll be..." Mimi smiled.

Numemon and Pandamon were impressed by this as HG saw Mimi not far from their location.

"Mimi! I--- I didn't know you heard me about my---" HG started, looking a little awkward.

"Your singing voice? Yeah. I actually think that--- it's--- it's better than--- mine. You're a wonderfully talented singer after all," Mimi smiled, the two smiling before Monzaemon appeared with balloons as HG started to climb down the tower.

"It's such a happy day in Toy Town!" Monzaemon replied with a smile as Mimi and Palmon cried out in surprise.

"Monzaemon!" Palmon gasped.

"You'll like these! Everyone likes the balloons!"

"Monzaemon, please just let our friends go. They've had enough," HG shouted as the bear's eyes began to glow, followed by an explosion.

HG and the others gasped before they started running.

"This isn't funny! I'm being chased by a giant stuffed bear!" Mimi cried out.

"Now, now. Don't run away from Toy Town!" Monzaemon said in a jolly way while he's still shooting off his laser beams.

Suddenly, a mob of Numemon jumped out of a dust cloud angrily.

"I'll save ya, honey!! Hah!" the Numemon leader shouted as sludge landed on Monzaemon's forehead, the bear growling as the slimeballs continued their attack.

"Numemon!" Mimi gasped.

"You turned him down, and he still helped," Palmon realized.

Monzaemon, however, just stomped and sent all the Numemon flying.

"Well, Palmon, what can I say, when you've got it, you've got it," Mimi shrugged.

"What should we do?" HG asked in panic.

"How are we ever gonna stop Monzaemon?" Liollmon added.

"There must be a way to solve this situation. But how?" Pandamon pondered.

Monzaemon stomped again, with the same effect.

"Oh no! I don't think the Nume-sludge is working," Mimi panicked.

Monzaemon glared and whacked the Numemon out of his way, shouting, "Gotcha!"

"I can't let them fight alone!" Palmon shouted, rushing in.

"Palmon, be careful!" Mimi pleaded.

"Take this!" Monzaemon shouted, trying to attack when-

"POISON IVY!" Palmon declared, her attack wrapping around Monzaemon's arm, but proved ineffective when he yanked free and sent her flying, "Ohh!!"

"Palmon!" Mimi panicked, running to her partner, "Please--talk to me!"

"My Poison Ivy's not strong enough," Palmon grunted.

"Mmmmm--HEART ATTACK!!" Monzaemon shouted, launching out a series blue heart-shaped bubbles.

"Don't let those touch you! They'll hypnotize you with love all over you!" Pandamon shouted as he ran off.

"And I don't think my bite will work on this," Liollmon admitted as the Numemon came to the rescue and together formed a gigantic wall to block the hearts.

"Numemon!" Mimi gasped, seeing the hearts start to float away, taking the Numemon with them.

"Time to take it to the next level. I may be a lady, but I am not a pushover," Palmon realized, starting to scowl into a mean, angry face, growling, "Mmmm...."

Mimi's Digivice then glowed as did Palmon.

"Time to show this Digimon some manners! Palmon, digivolve to..." Palmon started before growing into a giant, human shaped cactus with a tuft of orange 'hair', holes for eyes and a mouth, and two large red boxing gloves, "Togemon!"

"Togemon?" Mimi gawked.

"Yes! Togemon! The Champion form of Palmon!" Liollmon smiled.

"You're goin' down, big boy! Arrr!" Togemon shouted, smacking her fists together as Mimi looked on in amazement, the cactus strutting forward toward Monzaemon with an attitude, "You wanna dance with me?"

Monzaemon growled back and forth with Togemon, before Togemon delivered the first punch, the two then starting punching it out like crazy. At one point, Monzaemon attempted to use his laser attack, but Togemon punched him in the face, so it's ineffective.

"NEEDLE SPRAY--Ahhhhah!" Togemon roared, launching her needles out at such a rapid pace, causing so many needles to go into Monzaemon that he looked like a pincushion, and he let out a yell. The zipper on his back burst open, and a black gear flew out. He then moaned and collapsed as Togemon De-digivolved back to Palmon. Palmon then collapsed into a sitting position, exhausted. Mimi running over.

"Palmon, you're fabulous!" Mimi giggled and gave her a crushing hug.

"My...stem is bruised," Palmon winced as HG and Liollmon cheered.

'After everyone was freed from the spell, and the trunk, Monzaemon told us what really happened,' Mimi narrated.

"Usually, when kids get tired of their toys, they just abandon them and throw them away! It's so sad! So I created a home for these toys," Monzaemon explained, "Then...I wanted to make the toys more important to their owners, and I found a way to let their owners walk in their shoes!"

"How? By turning kids into zombies?" Mimi asked.

"I don't think he really intended to do that, Mimi," Joe pointed out.

"You're right, Joe, I didn't mean for that to happen, I really am sorry about it," Monzaemon confirmed before bowing, "Please accept my apology, I'll never do that again--really."

Tai grinned and scratched the back of his head in response.

"Monzaemon, we know that you would never hurt us on purpose," Tai smiled.

"Of course not. But an evil feeling came over me," Monzaemon noted.

"It had to be that black gear!" Sora figured.

"Y'know, I'm beginning to take this whole black gear thing a little personally. They cause a whole lot of trouble before disappearing," Tai retorted.

"And I'm starting to hate them," HG added with a growl.

"Mm-hmm," Liollmon added with a nod.

"That's right. But me and Palmon made Monzaemon good again," Mimi smiled.

"We're a great team!" Palmon giggled.

"I couldn't agree more. Monzaemon, I'm so happy to see you be good, again," Pandamon added with a smile of his own.

"My friends--there's only one way I can truly show my gratitude, and that's by giving you all a real heart hug!" Monzaemon heartily grinned, making the kids rather alarmed/bewildered.

"Oh boy..." Joe gulped.

"Here we go! This is my gift to you. HEARTS ATTACK--with a hug!" Monzaemon declared, this time with a smile and pink heart bubbles, each one of the group getting captured by a heart bubble and went floating around, giggling and all smiles.

The Numemon leader popped out of a nearby manhole for the sewers.

"Dumpling, a kiss for your hero?" he asked, trying to smile.

"No," Mimi replied, still cheerful in her heart bubble.

"Wow, what a girl! She'll come around. Hoo-hoah!" the Numemon leader said as he fell on his face in something like a faint, and made all the group laugh while pink hearts continued floating all over Toy Town.


	7. Ikkakumon's Harpoon Torpedo

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim,** **KTH4life**_ _**and** **Black Cat Angel** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.  
**_

**Ikkakumon's Harpoon Torpedo**

All the kids walking through the forest. it was very cold, and some of them were shivering.

"I know this is no day at the beach, Joe, but that's no reason to be a worrywart about it, and make all your friends unhappy. Pardon the pun, but chill out. Only you've got a problem with the cold. Everyone, think warm," Gomamon retorted.

"I'm allergic to fur," Joe whined.

"Oh, come on. The cold isn't that bad," Tai scoffed as TK and Mimi gasped. He seriously thought it wasn't THAT cold?! There must be a few screws loose in his brain or his goggles are probably too tight cutting off the circulation in his head.

"Perhaps not if you're a polar bear or a penguin," Izzy shrugged while HG shivered.

"Brrr! I'm freezing like a popsicle stick!" HG stuttered.

"Yeah, but if it shows, we'll throw some snowballs!" Tai joked and smiled.

"And make snowmen!" Mimi added.

"Who do you think Snowmon is?" Gomamon asked.

"A digimon from their planet?" Gabumon guessed.

"It's difficult to explain," Izzy admitted.

"Well, if it's edible, count me in," Tentomon chimed in.

"No, the best thing about snow balls is that you can throw them at each other. It's a fun game that we play in the winter months."

"You throw food?"

"We could build a snow fort!" Matt smiled.

"You'll need one!" Tai smirked.

"I bet I could beat you both, blindfolded!" Sora chuckled.

"Hmm... I don't think that's a good idea, Sora," HG admitted.

"I wanna build an igloo!" TK cheered.

"I'll help! If you tell me what it is," Palmon offered.

"An igloo sounds scrumptious!" Tentomon added.

"Too bad they're not edible," Izzy pointed out.

"You can't be serious. It'd be horrible if it started snowing right now," Joe whined.

"Lighten up, Joe. We're just trying to look on the positive side of things," Sora responded.

"Blech."

"Hey, Tai, when's it gonna snow?" TK asked.

"Probably any second now," Tai figured.

"Right on Joe's head!" Matt joked.

"That'd be so funny!" TK admitted.

"I can't wait to see his face!" Tai smirked.

"You know, if the temperature drops any lower than it already is, we won't be able to camp out anymore! We'll be frozen Digitreats!" Joe retorted, getting a laugh from Tai, Matt, Izzy, and TK, "Right. Go ahead and laugh. But when your tootsies freeze don't come crying to me. I'll just say I told you so. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Think first. Hmmph." Oh yeah, laugh it up jokesters. Joe was always the butt of every joke; the snicker to their chuckles! What was wrong with being careful? There's no such thing as being too cautious! Sure the gang saw an incredible world filled with wonder and adventure and all-around craziness, but they didn't know squat about this place! They could get lost; they could freeze to death; and what's worse.... Getting eaten alive by these "Digimon", especially their so-called partners. Joe tried to keep his distance away from Gomamon; that small, talking, furry THING could have rabies! He was not going to have a rabies shot; needles make him squeamish!

"Joe, will you take things easy, please? I know we're all freezing out here and I don't have a jacket, but do you really have to be sensitive about everything?" HG countered.

"No!" Joe snapped, but quickly sighed in defeat, "Yes..."

"What's that white stuff?" Gomamon asked.

"Isn't that just snow?" Liollmon shrugged.

"It's a field of snow! There's bound to be a ski resort nearby!" Mimi squealed.

"Oh, man. This is much worse than even I thought it was," Joe groaned.

"What now, guys?" Sora asked.

"I think we should keep going. We won't get anywhere just sitting here," Tai figured.

"But if we cross the field in our sneakers our toes will go numb," Matt pointed out.

"It's impossible to continue!" Joe shouted.

"So what are we supposed to do? Just stand around like a bunch of dorks?" Tai countered Joe, "We either go across the field or climb up that big mountain."

"How about going up on the mountain? It'll be an awesome workout for us! Right?" HG figured.

"Or... We can take Tai's advice and stand there like a bunch of nesting dolls," Matt joked.

"Wait a sec. I think there's a weird odor in the air," Agumon realized as he sniffed the air.

"I do believe he's right," Biyomon added.

"But what could it be?" Gabumon wondered, Tai sniffing the air, too.

"I dunno. But it smells like..." Tai wondered.

"Very familiar..." Izzy added as the group saw steam coming from the trees.

"It's steam," Biyomon realized.

"She's right," Matt confirmed, "But where's it coming from?"

"A big geyser!" Joe gasped in realization when they got closer.

"Wow! A hot spring!" Mimi and TK shouted in unison.

"Yippee! Now I can take a bath!" Mimi cheered.

"And we can get warm!" TK added as all the kids cheered as well getting closer, but as they did, the temperature rose, and they saw the liquid was purple... and boiling.

"Uh-oh. This water's much too hot!" Tai pointed out.

"We'd be cooked if we jumped in this," Tentomon added.

"Yes, boiled," Izzy agreed.

"Well, there go my big dreams of a nice warm bath," Mimi sighed as she sank to her knees.

"It looks so inviting," Palmon noted.

"Well, it would be inviting if you were a vegetable," Matt retorted, hands on his knees as he leaned over to look at the bubbling waters.

"What's a little dirt compared to starving!? We need something to eat, and there's nothing in sight!" Joe added in his own hungry complaints.

"Oh, yes there is!" TK smiled.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing here but a bunch of rocks and boiling water!" Joe whined.

"Lookit!" TK pointed out as Joe looked confused in the direction TK pointed.

"Tell me I'm not imagining this," Joe muttered as his glasses slid partially down his nose.

"Yeah!" Tai cheered as he threw both arms in the air excitedly before he then clasped Joe's shoulder, "It's for real!"

"Aw, come on," Joe groaned as what they saw... was a fridge, "That's ridiculous. What would a refrigerator be doing way out here?"

"I don't know, but let's check it out," HG suggested.

"Hey, where there's a fridge, there's grub!" Matt shrugged.

"No way! That's not possible," Joe snapped.

"We won't know 'til we open it," Sora pointed out.

"I don't really think that's a-"

"I want hot cocoa!" Mimi requested.

"What's that?" Palmon asked.

"Come on already! Let's see what's in there!" Tai responded as he firmly grasped the handle, opening the door slowly to soon find... nearly two hundred eggs, "Whoa! Eggs!"

"There must be a zillion of them!" Agumon guessed.

"Yeah! Grub on! These'll keep us all fat for a month!"

"Wait a minute! You shouldn't even touch them! We don't even know if they're safe for human consumption!" Joe protested. Why was there a refrigerator filled with eggs out in the open with no port of electricity?

"Then let me be the guinea pig! If I turn purple, you shouldn't eat 'em," Tai offered.

"There's more to it than that! Even if they are edible, they don't belong to us! That would make us all thieves! You've gotta think about stuff like that, Tai!" Joe added to what he said. Why was nobody listening to him? Didn't anybody think anymore?!

"Maybe we should just eat 'em anyway," HG shrugged.

"Unless you're into eating rocks, we don't have too much choice," Matt pointed out.

"I'm sure they'd say yes if they knew we were in trouble," Sora assured.

"Exactly! We'd tell them it's an emergency situation," Izzy added.

"Rationalize away," Tentomon replied as Joe sighed, feeling a bit defeated as the group all started to cook the eggs.

"Sunny-side up eggs are my specialty," Sora replied as Biyomon flapped her wings to kinda fan some flames as HG was preparing some scrambled eggs with Liollmon nearby, cutting some wood up into smaller pieces so Agumon and Gabumon could make some bowls from the wood.

TK and Patamon were boiling eggs in the water nearby before the young boy pulled them out.

"They're done!" Patamon smiled.

"I can't wait!" TK added, as Joe, meanwhile, was leaning against the rock wall whittling sticks.

Tai and Izzy then walked by Joe, carrying firewood.

"Hey, come on, man! How are those chopsticks coming?" Tai checked.

"Hurry, we want to eat!" Mimi shouted.

"Sorry," Joe sighed, "This just makes me feel uncomfortable. We'd be in big trouble if someone got sick. No doctors, you know? Why do I always have to be the one to think about these things?"

Once they were done, they had a whole platter of scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, sunny side up, and boiled eggs.

"Tres gourmet!" Mimi cheered.

"It's your turn, next time," Sora replied.

"Go on, dig in!" Biyomon smiled as the kids all started to eat.

"Oh yeah! I haven't had a meal like this in a long time! My stomach's chimin'!" Tai smiled.

"If we had some ketchup to go with this, it would be perfect!" Matt added.

"Mmm! I love ketchup and eggs!" TK cheered.

"Sounds pretty gross, to me," Sora admitted.

"I prefer pizza sauce," HG commented, getting an odd look from Matt.

"Uh... what?"

Meanwhile, Joe just sighed, staring at his bowl of eggs.

"What's the matter, Joe? You haven't eaten anything," Gomamon pointed out.

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking that if we were able to go home, ketchup wouldn't be a problem. Oh well," Joe tried to shrug it off, but the mention of home made most of the kids suddenly feel down again.

"Awe. Now I'm homesick. How depressing," Mimi sighed.

"You're right. Now I wanna go home," TK added, now feeling glum.

"It's been four days since we've been here. I wonder if anyone's tried to find out where we are?" Izzy wondered.

"Cheer up," Sora replied with a smile, "Tell me how you like your eggs and I'll try to do my very best!"

"I prefer my eggs to be covered with salt and pepper. But I guess it doesn't matter," Joe shrugged.

"I like soy sauce!" Tai declared.

"How about salsa or mayonnaise?" Matt asked.

"How about a reality check?" Sora chuckled.

"I'll have mine with mustard and jelly beans, please," Izzy requested.

"Hmm... I would never eat those," Liollmon reacted in disgust, Tai nervously laughing.

"How gross!" Matt reacted.

"Mmmm...jelly beans, that sounds good!" TK added.

"What? You're both weird," Mimi reacted in disgust before smiling at the thought of something else, "My favorite is eggs topped with maple syrup. Yummy! Sometimes I like them with cherries on top! Then I add in some natto." ugh... and she said they were weird.

"That's weird," Sora admitted, "And seriously? Natto?!"

"But I bet it's good... mostly," TK figured as Matt and Tai just started to laugh awkwardly.

"That sounds disgusting," HG noted, covering her mouth.

"What? You're making me completely lose my appetite. I just like plain eggs!" Joe snapped and complained before placing his hands to his head, "I wish we could talk about something other than egg recipes."

"Should we talk about exercising? I like exercising!" Liollmon suggested, but most everyone seemed to ignore him.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, they're just having a little fun," Gomamon replied, trying to make Joe smile.

"Come on, join the party!" Matt tried to add to the attempted levity.

"I think it's really too late for him," Tai muttered, "I think Joe thinks we've gone a little crazy over these eggs."

"Well, really. Jelly beans, natto, and cherries on eggs. That's crazy talk," Joe retorted, "Salt and pepper's all they need. Keep it simple! That's always been my motto."

"I'm afraid Joe's just not the kind of guy that's meant to be adaptable," Gomamon shrugged.

"Just what do you mean?"

"Face it Joe, you're kinda of a stick in the mud, if you get my drift."

"I'm just practical!"

"You're stuffy!"

"It never stops. Here we go again," Biyomon sighed.

"Someone has to have a head on his shoulders," Joe countered.

"You wanna fight? Huh? Huh?" Gomamon goaded, acting like he would punch Joe, tossing some air blows.

"Yeah, sure!" Joe shouted only for Matt to get in the way.

"Hey, hey, hey! You've gotta calm down. Come on," Matt responded.

"I am calm! He's the one who's dingy. And why'd you squeeze my arm?" Joe snapped, Matt looking a bit shocked.

"You don't seem like yourself today, Joe. You're a basket case."

"I am just trying to be careful. Unlike the rest of you weirdos. I'm telling you, you're all asking for trouble."

Joe was later sitting in front of the geyser, throwing rocks into it.

"I've got to be the cautious one around here," he sighed to himself, "I have to be...the voice of reason. I have to."

Suddenly, he heard Matt and Tai fighting at the base of the mountain.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Tai demanded of Matt.

"Because it's way too dangerous!" Matt snapped.

"There's no place else to go! We have no choice!"

"Look, before we do something foolish, we should think it over a little more!"

"You're just a big old chicken, Matt!"

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"I am not!"

Matt and Tai were getting close to butting heads as Joe walked over to the others.

"Hey, everybody, what's all the ruckus about? Why are Matt and Tai fighting?" the eldest of the group asked as the Digimon shrugged, weary of the argument between the two.

"They're debating about whether or not we should climb up Infinity Mountain, which is way up over there," Izzy explained.

"That's practically up to the sky!" Joe gawked.

"Infinity Mountain's a doozy, that's for sure," Tentomon added.

"It's the perfect spot! We gotta climb up there! It's the best view of the island!" Tai insisted.

"You've got to admit, he's got a point there," Joe agreed.

"That's not how Matt sees it," Sora noted.

"Nobody would make it up that peak! It's much too big of a gamble!" Matt snapped.

"He could be right, Joe. There could be lots of evil Digimon up that peak," Biyomon noted.

"Hmm. That's not good. That wouldn't be worth the risk," Joe muttered, trying to think this through.

"Come on, Matt, don't be a wimp! We won't get anywhere if we just stand around talking!" Tai retorted to Matt, who turned away with his arms crossed.

"Put your fists down when you talk to me and stop acting like you can just bully your way into being the leader!" Matt scoffed.

"What are you saying!?"

"Knock it off, you guys," Joe responded, walking up to stand between them, "Chill out. Now look here. Calm down. Let's be sensible."

"So, what's your opinion about this, Joe?" Matt demanded of the eldest of the group.

"Huh?" Joe responded, caught off guard.

"Yeah, Joe! Tell us who's right, me or Matt!" Tai asked, making Joe realize he had to think this through and give his thoughts.

"Ah, uhn. Well, I think Tai's right about going up that peak. If we went up there, we'd be able to see the landscape of the island a lot better," Joe noted, trying to process this aloud.

"See, Matt, I'm right!" Tai smirked, thinking Joe made his call and had Joe on his side.

"Hold on. Matt brought up a real good point about the danger," Joe interrupted, still trying to process this, "It'd be kind of dumb to lead everyone else up to a place we don't know anything about. It wouldn't be safe."

Both boys just sighed in response.

"Aw come on! Let's go as far as we can up the mountain!" Tai insisted.

"That's stupid! We can't protect ourselves out there!" Matt argued.

"Stop it now! You're both making me a nervous wreck! Just give me a chance to think, don't be difficult!" Joe snapped, still not having come to his conclusion. The glasses-wearing boy became tense. Two boys screaming near his ears; they both had valid and strong ideas, yet there were consequences in their plan as well. What to do? What to do?! WHAT TO DO?!

"What!? You are the most difficult person I ever met!" Matt snapped back.

"Hey! I am trying to make a decision here, so don't interrupt me!"

"You're just a big ol' chicken, Matt!" Tai mocked.

"Tai, you better take that back!" Matt growled.

"Enough already, you're given me a headache!" Joe shouted, clearly infuriated at the argument at hand, the three not seeing Sora losing her patience or that HG had had enough.

"Put a cork in it, you three!" Sora snapped back.

"That's enough!" HG screamed, that being the thing that took all three boys aback as they looked to the others, especially HG, "What's wrong with you guys?! You're acting like a bunch of little kids! And you know what's really sad?! It's that you're bringing Joe into your big mess!"

"Now, grow up. We have to decide what to do," Sora added.

"Besides, it's gonna get dark soon." Biyomon pointed out.

"I think we outta get a little shuteye," Agumon admitted.

"There will be plenty of time to argue later," Gabumon assured.

"So why don't you three just get a grip and move on, huh? Let's move on. It's not that hard," Liollmon sighed.

"First of all we need to find a place to sleep. Let's head for the caves," Sora suggested.

"We'll stay warm in there!" Agumon smiled.

"I call the top rock!" Biyomon called out as the others joined them, Joe just looking with a sigh, Gomamon looking up at him.

"Joe?" Gomamon asked, Joe still staring at the others.

"You okay, Joe? Joooooooe? Joeeeeeeeeey?"

Later, in the cave, the group began to settle in.

"This looks like a good place to rest! Don't you think so, Liollmon?" HG smiled.

"You said it, HG!" Liollmon smiled, the group all managing to get to sleep, except for Joe.

'Someone's going to get hurt if I don't do something fast! But how? I couldn't even stop the fight. Instead I got involved, myself! That wasn't too smart. If I'm responsible for everyone's safety, then I have to protect them. Their lives depend on me!' Joe thought to himself, soon sitting up before saying aloud, "I'll do it."

With Joe's steps making rocks move, HG woke up and saw Joe leaving. She shrugged a bit as he left, settling back in.

"He'll be ok," she figured as she went back to sleep.

By the next morning, Sora was up and early.

"Man did I sleep well!" she yawned and smiled before realizing something was off."Huh? I wonder where sleepy Joe is?"

Sora soon went outside and called out, "Joe, where'd ya go? Huh?"

She looked down and found a note, picking it up to read it aloud.

"'I'll be back in a little while. Please wait for me. signed, Joe'. He wouldn't be climbing that mountain by himself, would he?" she wondered before getting an idea, "Quick, everybody wake up! We have an emergency!"

"What's the emergency?" HG asked, yawning a bit.

"I'll tell you what's the emergency, HG! Joe has left a message to us that he's already trying to climb that mountain!" Sora pointed out.

"What? That's impossible!" Matt gawked.

"I don't think it's impossible, Matt," Izzy pointed out.

"What's so impossible or not about that?" TK asked.

"I don't know, you guys, but I sure hope he's okay..." Mimi muttered.

"Maybe he went back to find some more eggs in those fridges..." Liollmon guessed.

"Really? Is that what this is about? I was only sleeping and I didn't see him leave!" Tai gawked.

"I did kind of see him leave last night," HG admitted.

"Wait, what?! How?"

"I just woke up and saw him leaving. He looked determined so I didn't try to stop him. I wasn't responsible for his decision."

"You never stopped him?" Liollmon gasped.

"No. I didn't feel like it was my place to stop him," HG defended herself.

"Then, WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM BEFORE WE WENT TO SLEEP, HUH?!" Tai snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Tai. Calm down," Sora responded, trying to stop him.

"I think HG's right, you guys. Joe is going to climb that mountain. But he can't do that all by himself. We just need to follow his footsteps," Matt responded.

Tai, Agumon, Sora and Biyomon decided to go off while the others waited in the cave for them.

"Do you think Joe and the others will be okay, Liollmon?" HG asked.

"I sure hope so. As long as they won't find themselves into too much trouble..." Liollmon gulped.

"He had to go to the mountain because he was feeling guilty after Tai and Matt fought about their debate."

"About going to the mountain, huh?" Matt checked.

"Yeah. I know you don't wanna go, Matt. So do you think Tai, Sora and their partners could save Joe?" HG responded.

"Well, before I apologize to Tai, I think he and others could save him."

"Hey, Matt..." Mimi interrupted, pulling Matt aside, "Is HG your girlfriend, right about now? If memory serves, I bet she's gonna kiss you!"

Mimi teased Matt with some smooching sounds, making Matt gawk and blush.

"What?!" Matt shouted, HG having heard this actually gagged.

"Ew, no! I would never kiss him, Mimi! It'd be too weird! Besides, I'm only eight!" HG retorted.

"Wait... Only eight?" Mimi checked, looking at her and comparing the age with Matt, "Oh, no wonder. I thought you were eighteen, or... Something."

"Seriously, Mimi? None of us are technically past primary school age," Matt groaned.

"Come on! Sure, I'm a little taller than TK, but I don't look like I'm that old," HG added before turning to TK, "Do I look like I'm eighteen?"

"Actually, I thought you were twelve at first," TK admitted.

"Huh? Oh."

HG just groaned in response as she and everyone else were still in the cave while Tai, Agumon, Sora and Biyomon followed Joe's footprints.

"Is there going to be a wild Digimon up in that mountain?" Izzy inquired.

"There may be, I'm afraid," Tentomon confessed, "Hopefully, no one gets hurt..."

"How are they ever possibly going to find Joe way up high, Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"I don't know, Gabumon. I don't know," Matt sighed.

"At least until Joe is brave enough to make his climb," HG pointed out when, just then, Biyomon flew back into the cave.

"Guys, Joe is about to make his own sacrifice for attempting to climb the mountain. Meet us at the top of Mount Infinity while you all can!" Biyomon shouted.

"Let's go!" Matt ordered as the others nod and they all left.


	8. Evil Shows His Face

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim,** **KTH4life**_ _**and** **Black Cat Angel** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.  
**_

**Evil Shows His Face**

Matt and the others went up to Mount Infinity. Matt noticed someone. Joe along with Gomamon and a few others were devastated.

"This place could really use a good bus system," Joe sighed.

"Yeah, but it looks like we're at the end of the line," Matt noted.

The island took the gang from when they arrived to the Digital World, so far, in a circle. The island itself was part of the Digital World.

"Holy smokes!" HG gawked.

"We're doomed. Trapped on an island. We'll never get out of here alive! I knew I wouldn't like camp, but would my folks listen to me? No...I knew I should've gone to summer school..." Joe panicked.

"Uh... What's a summer school?" Liollmon wondered.

XXXXXXXXXX

In another part of Infinity Mountain, a black gear floated up. A humanoid lion wearing a red necklace, black pants and leather straps over one hand was traveling up the path, carrying a sword on his back.

"Another black gear!" the lion Digimon gasped before looking around, "I sense danger..."

Suddenly, a green skinned, white haired, ogre-like Digimon with gray and red striped horns, wearing black shorts, red and black bands on his wrists and ankles, and holding a bone club, jumped out on the lion.

"PUMMEL WHACK!" the ogre shouted as the lion blocked the club with his sword, "Leomon, you may be mighty, but now you face me! Your kind-hearted leadership is unimpressive!"

"Ogremon, you are truly the most evil of the bad digimon!" the lion, Leomon, scoffed, "There is no limit to your ruthlessness!"

The sword blocked bone as Leomon and Ogremon locked weapons. Both flew out of their owner's hands.

"No one asked you here. No one wants you here. I strongly suggest that you go now, while you still can!" Ogremon snapped.

"The endless attack of black gears which keep dropping from this mountain is transforming perfectly peaceful, innocent digimon into monsters, and I have come here to make it stop!" Leomon shouted.

"What a joke! You have been warned!"

They punched energy balls at each other, with Ogremon's being a sickly purple blast while Leomon punched out an orange lion's head complete with a lion's roar that caused the rock formations around them to crumble.

"Both of you, stop! Cease this foolishness!" a new voice, much deeper than either of the sparring Digimon, emanated from afar, "I command that the two of you work together for me, not fight."

"I'll never do that!" Leomon snapped.

"Neither will I!" Ogremon added.

Suddenly, the owner of the voice floated before them. The figure revealed himself to be a black clad demon looking Digimon with long lanky limbs, steel toed boots, straps all over, a skull on his chest, and large tattered wings, managing to give off an intimidating aura despite being around the same height as Leomon and Ogremon.

"Be silent! For I am Devimon, ultimate ruler of the demon underworld! You must obey my every command!" Devimon shouted.

"Sir, you don't need that joker. I can handle whatever you want done without anyone's assistance!" Ogremon scoffed.

"I think not. It is the Digi-destined kids we'll be fighting."

"The Digi-destined?" Leomon gasped, "Where are they?"

"They're already here, on Infinity Mountain," Devimon informed, "Now find them and destroy the entire group!"

"Destroy them? I'll destroy you for having threatened the Digi-destined! FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" Leomon shouted, launching the orange energy lion head again, but the attack went straight through Devimon as he warps away, "Wha-?"

"Please, Leomon. I am not requesting your cooperation, I am demanding it! Prepare for the TOUCH OF EVIL!" Devimon scoffed as suddenly, his clawed hand latched onto Leomon's back, filling him with dark energy as the lion roared in pain.

"Now you will obey my every command!" Devimon shouted, Leomon's eyes now completely white, blank, and empty.

"Yes...I will obey..." Leomon answered in a soulless tone.

XXXXXXXXXX

On Infinity Mountain, Tai sat on a cliff looking out of his telescope.

"Hmm," he muttered, before working on something.

"What'cha doing?" Agumon asked.

"Making a map of the island. That way we'll know exactly where we are and where we've already been," Tai informed.

"Yes, that works in theory," Izzy nodded before he looked down at Tai's map, looking a bit dumbfounded seeing it's covered in squiggles that are unreadable, "What? Did you say map or mess?"

"No questions, man, you are the dude of doodles," Matt sighed.

"If you follow that map it'll lead right to a headache," Sora added.

"Well I can read it just fine and that's all that's really important!" Tai snapped as Mimi, Joe and TK stood a little way away. He could read his craft just fine... if you squint your eyes and tilt your head to the side. It was perfect. It wasn't like they could find a pit shop selling maps. It was the best he could do.

"We don't need a map to know we're totally lost. I figured that out a long time ago," Joe sighed. Tai called his doodle a map? Please! The drawing was like looking at chicken feet mixed with noodles! No one could tell it's a map, whatsoever!

"I just figured out that these gloves really don't go with this dress," Mimi noted, looking at her gloves.

"How sad," Palmon sighed before the kids heard a rumbling sound in the distance.

"What's that?" Matt wondered.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we're going to wait here to find out," Joe gulped.

"At least it won't be a long wait," Sora figured as the group turned around and looked down the mountain path - at Leomon, who's blocking it off.

"Hey, it's Leomon!" Liollmon smiled.

"Don't worry, Leomon is our friend," Patamon assured.

"With big teeth!" TK gulped.

"He just uses them for smiling," Patamon added.

"He's a just leader and role model for all Digimon," Gabumon smiled, all oblivious to what happened.

"I want the children!" Leomon growled, alarming the kids, who gasped in shock and confusion, especially when Leomon drew his sword on the group.

"Call me paranoid, but I think it's time we run!" Joe realized and shouted.

As the kids ran away from Leomon, Tai's map fell out of his pocket.

"Oh no, my map!" he gasped, running back to get it.

"Tai, come back! Forget the map!" Agumon cried out, seeing Leomon almost caught up with Tai, "PEPPER BREATH!"

The fireball shot past the map, burning it up as Leomon guarded against it as it hit him.

"Sorry about your map," Agumon apologized as they ran.

"That's ok. At least it didn't fall into the hands of the enemy!" Tai assured.

"Don't slow down, Joe, he's right behind us!" Matt called out.

Joe, leading the kids down the mountains, almost ran into Ogremon, at the other end of the path!

"And just where do you think you're going?" Ogremon asked almost in a cocky way, making Joe and Sora scream in shock, all of the kids having halted in their path, caught between Ogremon and Leomon, "Well, children, so good of you to stop by."

"Does he look hungry to you?" Patamon asked.

"We're too small to eat and I'm full of junk food!" TK protested.

"Well he's not against a little snack," Gomamon admitted.

"Make it easy on yourselves. Give up now - or else!" Leomon warned.

"I don't see an exit door," Matt retorted.

"This proves the theory that well-executed teamwork is efficient even for bad guys," Izzy realized.

"Leomon has always been Ogremon's worst enemy, what's happened to him?" Biyomon wondered.

"What's he trying to do?" HG asked.

"Ready, Leomon? Charge!" Ogremon ordered as they both jumped towards the kids, who were back-to-back in two groups. Then suddenly, a bright rainbow light shined as the Digivolution kicked in!

"Agumon, digivolve to... Greymon!"

"Gabumon, digivolve to... Garurumon!"

"Palmon digivolve to Togemon!"

As the three Digimon grew outwards towards Leomon, Greymon knocked him back with his horn.

"Biyomon, digivolve to... Birdramon!"

"Tentomon, digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"

"Gomamon, digivolve to... Ikkakumon!" Gomamon shouted, growing into a giant white-furred walrus with saber teeth, and a massive black horn, the new Ikkakumon growing outwards with Garurumon and Birdramon to meet Ogremon, and Ikkakumon used his horn to knock him away. Birdramon shrieked. Above them, standing on the mountain, Devimon watches the whole thing.

"They've all digivolved!" the demon Digimon gawked.

"Come with me, TK!" Matt shouted as he led his little brother and Patamon away from the fighting.

"Come on, Liollmon! We've gotta hide," HG responded as she was about to run.

"No way! I need to-" Liollmon retorted, trying to fight back, but then he was yanked away.

"I don't care! Hide!" HG insisted, dragging him by carrying him.

"HEY!"

They both hid behind a rock.

"Let him have it, Greymon!" Tai ordered.

"NOVA BLAST!" the dino shouted, launching a fire blast at Leomon, who blocked it.

"HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon shouted, launching a duplicate of his horn that broke into a missile at Ogremon which exploded.

"NEEDLE SPRAY!" Togemon shouted as she launched needles at Leomon.

"Listen up! Everybody, altogether now!" Tai ordered as the Digimon began to attack.

"They have learned the secret of teamwork. This group of six attacking together is quite dangerous," Devimon noted before seeing those hiding, "But why hasn't the Patamon or Liollmon digivolved?"

"Are you ready?" Tai asked.

Greymon readied a fireball, but the top of the mountain - where Devimon was - exploded, as rocks fell down towards the kids.

"Avalanche, watch out!" Joe cried out as everyone hides behind a rock formation.

"HOWLING BLASTER!" Garurumon shouted, launching his blue flames.

"METEOR WING!" Birdramon cried, launching flames from her wings.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" Kabuterimon shouted, launching a burst of electricity.

"NOVA BLAST!" Greymon shouted, firing off his attack again as the four attacks all turned the rocks into dust. Tai panting as he had dust in his hair after the fact.

"Oh wow. Everybody ok?" he checked.

"Oh yeah, like a day at the beach," Matt said sarcastically.

"I think I need a facial!" Mimi whined.

"Huh?" Tai noted before he saw all the Digimon had de-digivolved and dropped to the ground, "Woah, Agumon, speak to me!"

"We aren't wounded, Tai - we're all just a little exhausted," Agumon admitted.

"Two digivolutions in one day - no wonder!"

"Poor Biyo..." Sora sighed.

"Hey, what happened to the bad guys?" Izzy asked, pointing out Leomon and Ogremon were no longer there.

"They just disappeared!" Tai gawked.

"Are you sure?" Palmon asked.

"Do you think that avalanche knocked them both off that cliff?" Gabumon checked.

Joe called to the bottom of the mountain, only to hear nothing.

"Hello? Unless they can fly, they're goners," Joe retorted.

"Neither one of them had wings so I'm sure they weren't airworthy," Sora added.

"Nothing is logical here. Anything is bound to happen, including flying monsters!"

"For once, you may be right, Joe," Sora admitted as Tai looked at the others, puzzled.

"Something bothering you?" Agumon asked.

"It's that avalanche. I can't figure out what set it off," Tai muttered.

"Stress accumulates until a crack develops, and with excess weight the terra firma suddenly isn't so firma," Izzy noted.

"You think so? It looked to me like something blasted it loose."

"If we don't stop this madness, we'll never be able to go home! We'll be doomed! Just like Joe said!" HG added, panicked, much to her own internal shock.

Devimon was still standing where the rocks fell from.

"They are more powerful than I expected, but I will strike while they are exhausted and destroy them all!" Devimon smirked, giving an evil chuckle.

XXXXXXXXXX

The sun was getting low in the sky, making the sky a bright orange.

"I'm intrigued that our Digimon were able to digivolve twice in one day," Izzy noted.

"Well it was sure lucky for us that they were able to do it," Tai admitted.

"I think the Digimon are growing stronger," Sora shrugged, "I wonder if that's a normal part of their evolution or we're bringing out something special in them."

"A fascinating hypothesis. If only we could test it," Izzy pondered.

"I think today was too much for them," Matt noticed.

"Palmon's looking very tired," Mimi pointed out.

"I've been tired before, don't worry," Palmon panted.

"Admit it, Palmon, we need to stop and rest," Biyomon admitted.

"I'm not feeling so good," HG confessed.

"Me too. After all, I could've joined you guys in a fight to stop him, anyways," Liollmon added.

What Liollmon didn't know was that HG might have been showing signs of getting sick.

"You know, to be perfectly honest, I think that would be a good idea for all of us," Joe admitted.

"Rest where? I don't want to sleep on the ground," Sora asked and pointed out.

"Look! A mansion!" Joe shouted, pointing to a building near the base of the mountain, just off to the side, between some trees was a nice looking place; a large building at two stories with hundreds of windows as it had a lot of rooms, light yellow walls with a blue roof and three towers pointing up to the sky.

"Or maybe it's a hotel! Come on!" Tai shouted, leading the group as they ran down the pathway leading to the place.

"We may have found other life forms! Look at the ground - I mean, somebody had to have mowed the lawn!" Izzy called out.

"What a place! I can't believe my eyes, it's just too good to be true!" Tai gawked.

"I hope they have a hot tub. Just as long as it's not too hot," Joe admitted as he and Matt ran up to the front doors.

"Wait, you guys, don't just go charging in there! It might be dangerous!" Tai shouted, but the group paid no heed and kept running.

"Guys, something doesn't seem right," HG responded.

"What doesn't seem right, HG?" Liollmon asked.

"Why would a mansion just show up when we were just talking about where to rest?" HG asked. Not to mention the exact moment the gang mentioned their exhaustion. For all she knew, it could be a trap. It could be her aching stomach which was telling her she needed bed rest. HG did want to rest, though; just a little nap for her sickness. She should have told them but she held back so they wouldn't pity her.

"Must be a mystery, huh?"

"Go ahead, Joe, open the door," Matt insisted as they stood in front of the closed doors.

"Maybe we should knock first?" Joe asked.

"Joe, nobody knocks on the door at a hotel."

"Well, here goes..."

And so, Joe opened the door, and looked inside. The building had two visible floors, with a landing visible from the ground, and judging by the amount of doors, lots of rooms along with red carpeting to match the beautiful interior.

"I don't see a desk clerk. Anybody here?" Joe noted before calling out.

"Looks weird," Tai admitted.

"Feels weird," Agumon added.

"Well it doesn't look or feel weird to me," Joe shrugged.

Tai, Izzy and Sora waited just outside the door.

"Perhaps my definition of weird is different than yours," Izzy figured.

"I'm with you," Sora nodded.

"Think about it. Are we safer in the open woods, with no shelter, or here in a sturdy building we can defend from attack?" Joe inquired. Yes, this was a perfect shelter with all the necessary supplies they needed, not the wilderness where they found scrap for survival.

"I have to admit, you have a point," Matt nodded.

TK walked past Joe and Matt, and to the far end of the lobby with Patamon flying alongside.

"Uh... Seems like nobody's here but-" HG started before coughing, "...us." Thank goodness no one noticed the cough. She was surprised Joe hadn't heard it either since he became the worrywart of their little group.

"That's beautiful!" TK smiled at a painting depicting an angel, hands raised in prayer, behind Joe.

"Huh?" Joe asked before seeing the painting. "Oh, yeah."

"Lookit, it's an angel!"

"What's an angel, TK?" Patamon asked.

"Something special that watches over you. Kinda like you guys," TK answered.

"If this is a spooked-out haunted house, would there be pictures of angels hanging on the walls? I don't think so!" Joe retorted.

"Relax, we just want to be careful. And talk quieter, or you'll wake everybody up," Sora shushed as she indicated the Digimon - all of whom were asleep except for Tentomon and Patamon.

"I hope they have a dress shop. I've never worn the same thing two days in a row before," Mimi sighed.

"Let's take a nap later," Izzy figured.

The doors of the hotel soon shut on the group, Tai taking note of this before seeing the rest of the inside.

"Well, no crowds. We must've missed the summer rush," Tai shrugged.

"We keep missing everything," Sora sighed.

"This is one kooky, mixed-up world."

"Let's go," Matt insisted.

Agumon and Gabumon woke up as Gabumon sniffed the air.

"Do you smell that?" Gabumon asked.

"I don't smell anything, what is it?" Matt asked.

"It's the delicious odor of food."

"Food?" everyone gasped.

"Are you sure?" Matt checked.

"Very sure, and plenty of it!" Gabumon confirmed.

"Show us where, Gabumon!"

"It's this way, follow me!" Gabumon said as he ran off to the source of the scrumptious smell.

"Wait for us!" Sora called out.

"Oh boy!" Joe gulped.

"Hurry, hurry!" Biyomon insisted, TK and Mimi glancing at the angel picture again, then followed with Patamon having a good look before moving off.

"Huh? Hey, wait for me!" Patamon called out, no one seeing HG looked back at the portrait before joining the others.

'That portrait sure looks nice. But I'm not sure if this house is real or not...' HG thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

The kids and Digimon all stared at a huge table-full of food. Ham, steak, fruits, chicken, seafood, everything.

"Look at that spread!" Tai gawked as Joe had tear streaming eyes.

"Wow..." he gawked.

"Sorry for saying this everybody, but this looks like a set-up," Matt admitted.

"Matt is right, it could be some kind of trap," Sora added.

Their concerns were not paid any attention to by the Digimon, who were all eating as if they've never tasted food before.

"What?" the Digimon asked.

"Agumon, are you guys sure this food is safe to eat?" Tai asked, seeing Tentomon's eating with all four of his arms.

"Everyone's eating, but their table manners are appalling," Mimi noticed.

"Guess that's 'cause they like it," TK shrugged.

"That's it, I can't bear to look any longer! I'm gonna eat it - at least I won't die hungry!" Joe cried out before taking a seat in a chair, "On your mark - get set -"

Joe then proceeded to join the Digimon in eating, shocking Tai.

"Ah...hmm..." Tai muttered as Sora, Matt, Izzy, Mimi HG and TK all considered the table of food.

"Lobster maitre'd - is there a table with a view?" Mimi muttered.

"Turkey with gravy sauce... Still not so sure if the food is real or not," HG noted.

"Mmm, peanut butter and pickles - this is the best pizza ever!" TK smiled.

"Ok, if one of us gets sick, we all get sick! That's teamwork too!" Tai shrugged before they all started to eat.

"Pass the mashed potatoes!" Sora called out.

"Potato chips, chocolate chips, fish and chips - I'll have any kind of chips!" Izzy smiled.

"What're we having for dessert?" TK asked.

As night fell, the group were still eating.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later at a hot spring, Tai bombed down into the water on the boy's side.

"Heads up, Matt!" he shouted, landing with a large splash in the pool-like bathing area, where Matt, Izzy and TK, and their Digimon, are also enjoying the water.

"Watch the hair, dude!" Matt shouted.

"Is that what it is? I thought some bird made a nest on your head!" Tai joked.

"Warm water is perfect for removing soil and epidermis - you know, dirt and dead skin," Izzy smiled.

"Whenever my skin gets dirty, I just shed it," Tentomon shrugged.

"That would be difficult for me."

Joe appeared at the water's edge, holding a towel around his waist.

"Uh, may I join you?" Joe shyly asked.

"Hey, don't be shy, there aren't any girls here," Matt retorted, "Come on in, so far we haven't found any sharks in the water."

"No big ones!" Tai teased.

At this point, Joe was all flustered now.

"It looks cold!" he retorted.

"Humans can be so silly." Patamon noted

"Humans aren't the only ones - where's Gabumon?" Tentomon asked as Gabumon was hiding behind the bamboo screen, looking red with embarrassment.

"He's not silly, just shy," Patamon informed.

"I'll get in, but I won't guarantee I'll like it!" Joe snapped

Liollmon looked to the wall where the girls are. He just sighed, missing HG.

"Hmm... I wonder where HG could be..." the lion cub muttered.

Meanwhile, on the girls side...

Since HG was always wearing a hood, this was the first time the other girls really saw her face in full, with her dark purple hair going down to her armpits.

"Ooh, HG! Your hair is- is, uh... Nice?" Mimi replied, HG touching her hair, embarrassed.

"Something wrong?" Sora asked.

"I'm not used to other people seeing what I really look like. Back home, they'd see I'm the sister of the smartest kid in school and ask me to get his autograph for them," HG confessed before she coughed a bit.

"Gee, I'm- sorry to hear that," Sora sighed as they all heard the ruckus from the boys behind the wall, "Why do they have to be so noisy?"

"Relax, just forget about 'em!" Mimi insisted, unaware of Gomamon swimming by.

"I've never been so relaxed in my whole life..." Gomamon sighed, the girls suddenly screamed, holding their arms over their bodies.

"Gomamon, you aren't supposed to be over here!" Biyomon snapped.

"Get back to the boy's side!" Palmon added, using her vines to entangle Gomamon.

"Get out of here right now!" HG shouted as Palmon flung Gomamon over the partition wall.

"Hey, let go! Heeeelp!" Gomamon screamed while entangled before he was launched and then landed on the boys' side.

"Ow! Hey, watch out, Gomamon!" Izzy snapped.

"Where'd you come from?" Matt wondered.

XXXXXXXXXX

-Later that night-

Everyone entered the bedroom wearing robes, looking surprised.

"Wow..." Matt gawked as TK and Patamon flopped down on a bed.

"The only thing better is bunk beds!" TK cheered as HG smiled.

"Bunk beds are nice when we socialize even when we sleep," she figured.

"Boy, this feels great. Last time I had a bed this soft, I was dreaming!" Izzy smiled.

"How I've missed sleeping on soft, silky sheets," Mimi sighed with relief as Sora relaxed, starting to lay down.

"I'll tell you what I don't miss - I don't miss hiking through the blazing hot desert. And another thing I really don't miss is starving in the jungle," Joe responded, as if complaining before he looked up to see everybody around the room, seated on their beds, looked homesick, "Oh - we are a long way from home. Sorry."

"That's ok, Joe. We all miss being home and I'm sure that we're all wondering if we'll ever get back there," Tai assured.

"I'll bet our disappearance caused a big fuss at school and all over town," Matt figured as he laid down, "But we've been gone so long, everybody must've given up looking for us by now."

"Mom and Dad wouldn't stop," TK countered.

"I'm homesick, aren't you?" Mimi asked.

"We'll find our way back. Don't worry, Mimi," Sora assured.

"Let's just go to sleep and try to have nice dreams."

"Goodnight guys!"

"Goodnight girls!" the boys replied.

"Goodnight, everyone," Izzy bid.

"Goodnight," Mimi yawned.

The lights in all of the mansion all went out as clouds cover the moon.

-Much later overnight...-

"It was so easy to deceive them. Even the Digi-destined seem to have childish and simple minds," Devimon's voice said as the leather-clad evil one himself phased out of the painting, and stood in the lobby, with Leomon and Ogremon soon standing before him.

"Ready?" Devimon checked.

"What a joy, to be rid of the Digi-destined at last," Ogremon smirked.

"And you, Leomon?" Devimon checked, knowing the answer.

"I cannot disobey your orders," Leomon informed as Devimon let out another evil chuckle before they heard some commotion.

After that, around the kids, the entire hotel building faded, becoming an old ruin. Part of the railing where Devimon was standing was still intact. Matt, sensing the danger, woke up in his bed.

"Wake up everybody, something's wrong!" Matt shouted.

"What's happened?" Sora gawked as everyone shot up.

"Huh?" Joe gasped as HG wrapped her blanket around her body, Mimi screamed, and then Devimon waved his hand, and all the beds floated up into the sky. What was going on? Please be a dream! Please be a dream!

"Because together you are strong, I will use my Touch of Evil to scatter you throughout the DigiWorld!" Devimon shouted.

"What is that thing?" HG gasped.

"I think it's- it's Devimon!" Liollmon soon realized.

"Devimon?"

"I don't know what he's up to."

"The food, the bath, the building - none of it was real. I created all of it in your imagination," Devimon scoffed as Mount Infinity cracked, and splitting open to reveal hundreds of black gears.

"You see, I have discovered the secret of the black gears from below. I call them forth to do my bidding!" Devimon smirked.

Because of the pressure of the gears, the island itself cracked and split into several different segments - each of which drifted apart from Infinity Mountain.

"You and your friends happened upon this tiny island, which is just one of the fragments of the old world, scattered across an enormous ocean. You pretend you are strangers who know nothing of this, but I am aware that you are the Digi-destined, who were sent to rescue this world from my domination," Devimon continued as the beds floated, in the sky, HG able to see the Yokomon village, the factory and Toy Town.

"Now I understand. Devimon is the one responsible for all this madness!" HG deduced.

"You got us all wrong! We were just some kids at summer camp who somehow got sucked into your world!" Tai insisted.

"Your little act no longer amuses me. It's time to bring an end to the Digi-destined!" Devimon shouted as he sent the beds flying, with HG getting sent away.

"What?! NO!" HG screamed as she clung to the bed. She couldn't do anything to stop what was occurring. She was scared. Scared of her friends scattering away, afraid of the upcoming danger..... Scared of being alone.

....would HG ever be reunited with the others?


	9. Sub-Zero Ice Punch

**_I thank TKNRKRGaim, KTH4life_** **_and Black Cat Angel for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me._**

**Sub-Zero Ice Punch**

HG and Liollmon were in a snowstorm. It had been an hour since they crashed. Even though she was dressed, she was still wrapped in the blanket to keep warm.

"W-w-where are we?!" HG shivered.

"I don't know! The snow storm is blocking the scenery!" Liollmon shouted back.

"Tai! Sora! Matt! Izzy! Mimi! Joe! TK!" HG hollered despite the winds.

"I'm afraid everyone's gone somewhere else, HG!" Liollmon pointed out before hearing HG cough, "HG! Are you okay?"

"No, I don't think I am," she confessed, "I haven't been feeling good since yesterday."

"Oh, no! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did. But I guess you didn't understand me."

"Okay, d-don't worry, HG. I-I-I'll make sure you're still warm. Keep your blanket on while you still can. I'm here for you.," Liollmon assured before they heard someone.

"TK!" They heard someone shout.

"Matt?" HG asked.

"TK! Patamon!" another voice called.

"Gabumon?" Liollmon realized before...

"Matt! Gabumon!" HG shouted back as Matt finally saw the two.

"HG! Liollmon!" He shouted as HG ran forward and collapsed in Matt's arms, "Oh!"

"Oh, thank goodness you found me."

"So she came to hug him by the time we found you guys, huh?" Gabumon asked.

"If you say so, Gabumon. But I don't think they'll kiss each other," Liollmon admitted.

"Have you seen TK?" Matt asked.

"No, I don't know where everyone else is," HG sighed, "You're the first I've seen so far."

"Geez... I don't know why Devimon's behind all this, but we need to find out why."

"Well, all I know is-" HG got out between coughs, "Devimon IS responsible for the madness he's been causing."

"Yeah, no wonder he's decided to split all of us up!" Liollmon added.

"HG, you don't look so good," Gabumon noticed as HG coughed again.

"I know. I've been feeling sick, lately..." HG confessed as Matt felt her forehead.

"Ah! That means- you must be freezing!" Matt gasped as HG began to cry in tears.

Matt decided to comfort her by hugging her as he wrapped HG's blanket around them.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about your sickness, alright? We're here for you, HG. Until we find the others," Matt assured.

-After walking for a while.-

"TK! TK! TK, can you hear me?" Matt cried out as it turned to coughs, but he continued walking against the wind.

"Matt, don't," Gabumon insisted, but Matt moved on.

"Where are you, TK!" he hollered before he collapsed in the snow.

"Matt!" HG shouted, his partner rushing over.

"Matt, you must save your strength," Gabumon insisted before looking around and spotted something, "Wait! Look, Matt. There's a cave, right over there. Let's go in and get warm until the storm's over."

"A cave. Of course! That's where TK is! Yes! TK!" Matt cheered, rushing into the cave, but found it empty, leaving him feeling defeated as Gabumon, HG, and Liollmon joined him.

"I'm sorry, Matt," Gabumon replied, "Don't give up hope."

"I was so sure he'd be in here. But then again, TK never liked caves that much."

Liollmon got an idea and set up a pile of sticks which Gabumon fired a Blue Blaster at, creating a roaring fire.

"There now, come and sit by the fire," Gabumon insisted, "You can't help TK nor anyone for that matter if you get sick. You must rest to stay strong."

"No, I gotta go back out there and find him. I feel fine!" Matt insisted, but another round of harsh coughing told otherwise.

"You are not fine! You're getting sick, like me!" HG pointed out.

"She's right, Matt," Liollmon nodded as Gabumon caught Matt.

"Ah! Sit down. You're not leaving this cave. I'll go look for TK," Gabumon insisted, Matt looking confused, "Hey, come on, Matt. I'm your digimon, remember? I'm here to help you through thick and thin, whether it's hot or cold. Besides, I've got a built-in warm fur coat, which you haven't."

Gabumon laughed and pushed Matt down to sit by the fire with HG.

"Come on. Just sit right here and get warm, I mean it. I'll be back in two shakes of a digi-tail!" Gabumon smiled.

"Good luck, Gabumon!" HG bid.

"Tell TK and Patamon we're fine, too!" Liollmon called out as Gabumon nodded, leaving, with Matt sitting by the fire, coughing.

'Poor little TK. It's just not right. He's my little brother, I should be the one out there looking for him,' Matt thought, restless as he sat near the fire before standing and turning to the cave entrance, shouting, "T.K.!"

Matt swiftly stood up and left the fire, shocking HG.

"Matt, don't!" HG responded, grabbing his hand.

"Hey! What're you doing?!" Matt snapped.

"I can't let you leave here!"

"But I can hear my brother's voice calling my name! I've gotta go!"

"Can't you just trust Gabumon?" HG asked, not realizing the desperation in the older boy's eyes.

"I know. But TK needs me as much as I need him," Matt insisted before coughing again.

"But TK isn't alone. He has Patamon," HG assured, Matt not paying much attention to her before he sighed.

"I understand. But in our world, someone has to help," Matt replied, pulling his hand away before running off and leaving the fire.

"Don't leave me here, alone!" HG panicked, but she was too late as Matt got out of the cave, leaving HG and Liollmon, the young girl dropping to her knees, "No! NO! MAAAAAAAAAAAAATT!" She couldn't do anything but watch him leave. Her efforts were futile. If she wasn't so sick, would it make a difference? Guess not. He was still older than her. That idiot. She understood that Matt worried for his little brother, but TK had Patamon so he wasn't completely alone. Not to mention, going through a snowstorm was suicide, especially with a cold. HG was scared. Scared of losing her friend. Could you blame her?

Her cries echoed, turning to sobs as her partner got up and did his best to comfort her.

"Let him go, HG. If he's already out there looking for TK, he should at least find Gabumon, first," Liollmon insisted, leading her back to the fire.

"When's he coming back?" HG sniffled.

"I don't know, HG. I just don't know."

XXXXXXXXXX

Matt was out alone looking for TK. But he was freezing cold and feeling worse due to the snowstorm, struggling through stubbornly.

'Dang... I don't know what I'm doing right now,' he thought to himself, 'If I don't find TK in an instant, there's no way I'll live any longer. But then, again, so would my brother! Most of all, I have to be there for HG's honor! I may not survive in this snowstorm, but if I find Gabumon on my side again, there would be a good chance for me to find the rest of the gang! Still, I'm not sure how long I can survive this sickness...'

XXXXXXXXXX

Gabumon was searching for TK, but was disappointed as he couldn't find the young boy.

"Well, no sign of TK out here anywhere. Poor Matt will be so disappointed," he sighed before gasping in shock at a sight before him that he almost dreaded, "Ah, Matt!"

Half buried in the falling snow, Matt was lying unconscious on the ground looking near frozen as Gabumon rushed over.

"What are you doing out? I told you not to leave!" Gabumon practically scolded before noticing Matt wasn't answering or moving, "Can you hear me? Matt!"

Back at the cave, HG saw Gabumon coming in.

"Gabumon," HG gasped, waking Liollmon up as he also gasped.

"Matt! Gabumon! Matt's frozen solid!" Liollmon gawked as the two rushed to help Gabumon with Matt.

"I'm sorry, Gabumon. I tried everything I could to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me," HG apologized.

"It's okay, HG. Thanks for doing everything you could to protect him, though. Not to mention protecting yourself," Gabumon pointed out.

"We need to get him near the fire."

"Let's carry him, gently," Liollmon added as the three carried Matt to the fire, "Okay. 1, 2, 3."

They placed him near the fire at that point.

"He's frozen. We have got to warm him up or else... Or else he will never make it," Gabumon muttered in response.

"Matt," HG almost cried as she laid her head on his chest, "Matt, I know you can hear me... Please be okay... Please..."

Matt's heart was beating in HG's ears, letting her start to feel warm as HG began to fall asleep on him.

"Do you think Matt will be alright, Gabumon?" Liollmon wondered.

"All I have is my own fur and-," Gabumon started before getting an idea, "Hey, that's it!"

Liollmon went to another spot to look away out of respect for Gabumon, who slipped off his fur coat and placed it over Matt and HG.

"Why not? Here you go, my friends. You will feel better in no time," Gabumon smiled.

"Um, Gabumon? How long am I gonna keep looking away?" the lion cub Digimon asked.

"They'll be alright, Liollmon. I will too," Gabumon assured.

"But you're naked! You'll get sick!"

"Maybe. Only for a little while. I'll put my fur back on once they get warm and better. Good thing we're alone here."

"Well, uh, yeah. We- we are," Liollmon sighed.

As Matt slept, he noticed something off.

"Wha-? Huh?! Where am I?" he asked when he heard HG cough, "HG!"

He tried to move, but felt he couldn't, looking to see he was locked with chains in the hands of Devimon. He grunted, trying to break free, only to see Devimon laugh.

"Who's going to save your friend now?" Devimon scoffed as HG coughed.

"Matt!" HG tried to shout, only coughing up a bit.

"HG!" he shouted, Devimon making HG worsen her sickness as if she was dying. He needed to move. Break you stupid chains! Break! BREAK! Where were their Digimon? He frantically searched through the darkness. Nothing. HG's merely within his range. Just stretch his arm further.

"M-a-" HG coughed out, not clearly as she was struggling, but then managed to shout, "MATT! HELP!"

"NO!" Matt shouted as Devimon let out an evil laugh. No! He couldn't lose her!

"It's your fault because you weren't there for her when she needed you," Devimon scoffed. The dark Digimon sounded too certain; and, to be frank, Matt believed him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Out of the dream, tears formed in Matt's eyes.

"M-mmm... Huh?" he groaned, getting up, "What happened? Where am- oh!"

He looked at HG, who was still asleep. Good, she was safe and sound. His nightmare felt real; a sick, twisted realism. At least, it was over.

"Hey, wake up. HG, wake up!" Matt shouted, worried as HG yawned.

"I'm awake..." she groggily responded, Gabumon soon pulling his fur off of them and ran behind a rock.

"Huh? Gabumon. You- you took off your fur for-" Matt gawked before seeing his partner put the fur back on, "uh, thanks."

"Yeah, uhh... It's good to see you're up and feeling..." Gabumon started, sounding like he had a stuffy nose before suddenly sneezing, "ah, ah, achoo, achoo! ...better."

"Hey, you kept me all warm and now you have my cold. Bet you look pretty funny with no fur on, Gabumon. Thanks," Matt couldn't help but chuckle.

"S'okay."

Liollmon walked over to check HG.

"Hey, HG... How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Feeling better," she answered, smiling.

"Since the two of you are better, Matt. What were you thinking?" Liollmon checked, snapping a bit.

"Heh... Well, maybe I went a little too far to save my brother, but-" Matt tried to defend.

"But what? Is there something you want to tell us?" Liollmon interrupted.

"We were worried sick about you. You knew it was too dangerous out there, and you went anyway," HG added.

"I know, HG. I'm sorry. I wasn't there for you when- when you needed me," Matt sighed, "Will you forgive me?"

Before HG could say anything, a voice echoed into the cave.

"Matt! Gabumon!" a voice called out, making them realize it was Tai.

"Hey!" Matt shouted.

"It's Tai and Agumon!" Gabumon smiled, "They're her- ahghh!"

Gabumon sneezed messily. Soon, Tai and Agumon ran to Matt, Gabumon, HG, and Liollmon who all emerged from their cave.

"Matt! HG!" Tai smiled.

"Hi!" Agumon cheered.

"Tai!" Matt gawked.

"Hey!" Gabumon waved.

"Tai! Agumon!" HG cheered.

"You found us!" Liollmon cheered.

The boys met and clasped hands, as did their Digimon.

"I thought we'd never find you guys! It sure is lucky that we met up with Frigimon," Tai explained.

"Frosty the snowmon here?" Matt joked, pointing to the giant snow-bear looking Digimon.

"Wow! Liollmon, look at the size of that Digimon!" HG gawked.

"You said it!" Liollmon nodded.

"Yep. This is him," Tai nodded, "He happened to see you two fall on this island, and then he got us here in no time."

"Ahh, Subzero Ice Punch, you know?" Frigimon nodded.

"Did you see anyone else?" Matt asked with hope in his voice.

"No. When it rains kids I usually notice," Frigimon admitted, "You were the only two who fell here. If there are more of you, they must be on the other islands."

"Poor TK," Matt sighed.

"Hey. Don't worry, we'll find him," Tai assured as Gabumon sneezed again.

"Hey, watch it, dude," Agumon retorted.

"Sorry about that. I am not used to having a cold," Gabumon apologized.

"A cold, huh? I have an idea," Frigimon replied as he turned and walked away.

"Don't go, Frigimon. You can't catch his cold, you already are!" Tai responded when Gabumon sneezed again.

"How'd you get sick? You're the one with the fur around here," Tai asked, slightly playfully, only to get his elbow grabbed by Matt, "Huh?"

"Stop making fun of him! Leave him alone, Tai!" Matt snapped.

"Hey, why don't you chill out, Matt. I was only trying to see how we could help him!"

"That didn't sound like Tai was making fun of him, Matt," HG noted, Gabumon sneezing two more times.

"Gabumon, I think you oughta go take a rest for a little while," Agumon figured.

"I think you're right," Gabumon admitted, the three Digimon walking away, leaving Matt, Tai and HG alone.

"We have to figure out what we're going to do next," Tai pointed out.

"Well, isn't it obvious? We have to go search for all the others," Matt retorted.

"Here we go again..." HG sighed.

"Yeah, right, but how are we supposed to do that?" Tai countered, "You heard what Frigimon said. Everyone landed on different islands. Unless you've got an airplane stashed around here someplace, I think we're stuck."

Matt crossed his arms with a hmph.

"So I guess we'll ask Frigimon for help," Matt shrugged off.

"Weren't you listening to me? He said they're scattered all over the place. He only has two arms, he's not an octopus," Tai shouted.

"Then I'll have to make a raft out of some of these trees, okay?!" Matt snapped, Tai placing his hands on Matt's shoulders.

"Matt, calm down," Tai responded, "Wow, what's eating you, dude? I'm on your side. I'll help you get off this island if we have to build surfboards, okay? Look, the others will be fine without us for now. We gotta focus on the real deal."

"Real deal?"

"What, I gotta spell it out for you? We gotta know if this island's moving toward that place Devimon talked about."

"That's not the real deal!" Matt snapped as he grabbed Tai by his shirt and gave him a shake, Gabumon and Agumon looking on worriedly.

"Matt!" HG shouted.

"Tai!" Agumon added.

"Matt!" Gabumon soon added in as...

"Knock it off!" both of the boys' Digimon shouted.

"Stop, you knuckleheads!" Liollmon almost screamed.

"You dufus, there's nothing more real than our friends, and finding them, and getting us all back home safe and don't you ever forget it!" Matt snapped at Tai, "You wanna ditch your friends to go look for some faraway land, go ahead, but I'm not coming! I'll find TK! I'll find all of them. By myself!"

Matt turned and ran off in the other direction.

"But you tried that before!" HG pointed out.

"But Matt! Hey, come on, don't freak out on me! You're not getting away that easy!" Tai shouted, running after Matt, and tackled him from behind, the two boys slammed to the ground.

"Nobody runs away while I'm still talking, now listen!" Tai almost roared, "Maybe there's something across the ocean to help us find the others. Why do you have to get so bent out of shape? I know how you feel, Matt."

Matt just punched Tai, knocking the gogglehead off of him. Tai landed hard a few steps away as the Digimon ran up to them.

"You haven't got a clue how I feel, Tai. You're acting like such a jerk!" Matt snapped, more enraged than ever.

"Who're you calling a jerk, jerk?" Tai snapped as he lunged at Matt, and the two were sent flying, soon landing hard as Tai straddle Matt with a fist raised to strike.

"Tai, stop that!" Agumon shouted.

"You have to work together, guys! Stop fighting!" Gabumon added, the boys getting up as the Digimon tried to push their partners away.

HG had been sensing anger in him, but when she tried to help, Matt pushed her away, unknowingly making the same mistake again with Tai.

She soon had enough, her own anger rising as she ran, jumping up and tackling Matt. They went rolling down a snow-covered slope.

"HG! NO!" Liollmon panicked.

"What's gotten into these kids?" Agumon gawked.

"Cut it out, you guys!" Gabumon tried to reason, but the kids kept rolling down the slope until, finally, they stopped rolling, and landed at the edge of a cliff. HG was on top of Matt, looking mad, gripping his shirt.

"What is wrong with you?! You don't normally make stupid decisions and go running off by yourself!" HG snapped, her face red with rage, "Do you have any idea how much it hurt to see you leave like that?! You ask for forgiveness, yet you're doing it again! As of right now, the answer is no!" She never felt so angry before. But enough was enough! Matt needed to start noticing problems and stop ignoring them! And if words wouldn't get through that thick, blond head of his then action was the next best thing!

Matt's heart broke after she said that to him. He didn't even know what to say to her, or Tai.

"Matt... What kind of boy are you? Why do you insist on going at this alone? Why are you doing any of these crazy things?! Who or what is more important to you, the people with you right now, the need to get home, what?! TELL ME!" HG pleaded to know.

Matt looked away from her, struggling not to let her see anything.

"ANSWER ME!" HG demanded before she gasped at what she saw, that being tears flowing down Matt's cheeks.

"It's TK!" he answered, looking genuinely devastated, "He's out there on some strange island, and he's all alone..." HG should know what he's feeling. If it was one of her siblings, she would be as stir crazy as he was. Yet here they were, HG hovering over him with both anger and disappointment. Matt didn't have time for a lecture. His little brother was too young to be alone. TK couldn't survive on his own. Matt was responsible for TK's safety. Otherwise... otherwise... he failed as his older brother.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID! That's why you should've never left me in the first place! And furthermore,-"

"Matt, HG, get away from that cliff!" Agumon shouted.

"Huh?" the two kids muttered when the edge of the cliff crumbled, sending the kids falling. Tai came in and grabbed a branch growing from the cliff face, and held onto Matt and HG with his other hand.

"I got ya! Whatever you do, just don't let go of my hand!" Tai shouted as Gabumon, Agumon and Liollmon started running carefully down the cliff to their friends.

"Don't give up, guys! Hold on!" Agumon shouted, but got halted by his growling stomach, "Ah, it's hopeless. I'm so tired and hungry now, I don't have any strength left at all."

"We'd be okay if I could just digivolve into Garurumon!" Gabumon groaned before sneezing, "Achoo!"

Suddenly, a massive creature with white-grey fur all over his body, a head that took up most of it, and jumbo sized fists and feet lept toward them, brandishing a huge icicle as a weapon.

"Wow, I think it's Mojyamon," Agumon gasped.

"That's him, but he has a black gear inside him!" Gabumon added.

"Mojyamon is a peaceful mountain Digimon that doesn't like fighting."

"You'd better tell him that. He doesn't look very peaceful right now!"

"ICE CLOUD!" Mojyamon shouted as he rammed the icicle into the end of the cliff, breaking the edge off.

Agumon, Gabumon and Liollmon slipped as Tai's branch broke away, sending all six tumbling, the three Digimon held onto each other for dear life while the kids held onto each other's hands all the way down. Fortunately, their fall was broken by Frigimon's head as they landed softly nearby, the large snow-mon dropping to his butt.

"It's raining kids and Digimon again. I'm gonna have to start carrying an umbrella," Frigimon muttered, almost as a joke.

"Frigimon!" Everyone gasped with a smile as the Digimon approached him.

"Thank you, Frigimon," Agumon and Gabumon replied.

"Great timing!" Matt added.

"Without you, we'd be flat as pancakes!" Tai jokes.

"Ha. Well, next time try not to land on my head," Frigimon replied before showing what he brought, "Here, I brought some food."

"Excellent! Let's eat!"

Tai jumped up and grabbed the fruit Frigimon brought and began wolfing it down.

"And it's good and tasty, just the way I like it!" Agumon smiled, eating as the snow-mon handed Gabumon some kind of grass.

"An old cold remedy," Frigimon said before Gabumon sneezed, and then accepted the offered grasses... though after a bite, his eyes watered and he yelped from the taste.

Suddenly, a growl sounded through the valley and Mojyamon landed behind Frigimon.

"I'll take care of Mojyamon," Frigimon assured as he ran towards his foe, "Frigimon!"

The two digimon ran at each other, and Frigimon pushed Mojyamon into the cliff. The force knocked out some of the rocks, revealing spinning black gears.

"SUBZERO ICE PUNCH!" Frigimon roared, but the attack missed, and Mojyamon tossed Frigimon over his shoulder.

"BOOMERANG BONE!" Mojyamon shouted as he tossed a bent bone, the others ducked to avoid the flying bone, as it returned to its owner.

"Nice trick, Mojyamon," Tai scoffed, "Now watch ours!"

"Agumon digivolve to... Greymon!"

"Gabumon digivolve to... Garurumon!"

Garurumon ran toward Mojyamon, who threw his Boomerang Bone. Though the bone was crushed between Garurumon's powerful jaws.

"That's it, Garurumon!" Matt cheered.

"Go, Greymon!" Tai ordered.

"NOVA BLAST!" Greymon roared as Mojyamon leapt out of the way and kicked Greymon to the ground.

"You're not playing nice! Grraa!" Garurumon growled.

"That's enough! I might be angry at Matt, but I won't abandon him or any of my friends when they need me!" HG shouted.

"So- what does that mean?" Liollmon asked.

"It means I'm not running away this time."

"So you're not angry at Matt anymore?" the lion cub checked.

"I am angry, but I won't leave him hanging," HG answered, gripping tightly to her Digivice, as it glowed with Liollmon, the data being shot into him as he was enveloped in a light.

"Liollmon digivolve to..." Liollmon roared as he grew, looking to be Garurumon sized, but was clearly a full grown lion with darker fur and mane, the mane having beads on it with two large looped piercings in each ear, green eyes, and two long tails, "Liamon!"

"Liamon! These guys are extremely rare, to the point I thought it was an illusion. This 'mon is so brave, it tends to fight Digimon stronger than itself by using it's charged electric mane strike, Thunder of King, said to power a million factories for a year!" Greymon described as HG looked in awe.

"Liamon! Perfect timing!" Garurumon responded.

"Sounds like you guys need my help, eh?" Liamon smirked as HG's eyes widened in amazement.

"He's beautiful," she whispered to herself as Frigimon held Mojyamon's arms immobile.

"Now, Liamon, aim for the black gear!" the snow-mon shouted as Liamon stood back, electricity sparking through his mane.

"THUNDER OF KING!" Liamon roared, sending the electricity at Mojyamon, hitting him square in the chest so hard, it sent him and Frigimon into the cliff wall, and the gear was driven out.

"YES!" HG cheered as the gear disintegrated and Mojyamon shrunk in size.

"Now, that's more like it. Back to standard Mojyamon size," Frigimon sighed before noticing the wolf, "Garurumon, what are you looking at?"

Garurumon was looking at the cliff face, where many black gears were turning together. He then fired a Howling Blaster at them, which broke them all.

"Wow, just look at all those black gears! There's a mountain of 'em!" Tai gawked.

With a few flashes of electricity, the gears repaired themselves and began turning.

Garurumon, Greymon and Liamon de-digivolved soon after.

"Whoa! I feel like I was just run over by a Monochromon!" Mojyamon responded like he just woke up from a bad dream.

"A black gear was controlling you, Mojyamon," Agumon explained.

"That's right, the fight wasn't your fault," Gabumon added.

"Whoa," was all Mojyamon could say.

"The same thing happened to me," Frigimon added, "It's okay, though. No one got hurt."

"This doesn't change anything, Tai. We still have to go find the others," Matt pointed out.

"We will," HG assured, "And Matt?"

"Hmm?"

"While we look for the others, I need you to think about what you did earlier to me and Tai. Do not open your mouth and talk to us until we find them. Do you understand that?"

Matt was speechless at this, but they were distracted as sparks flew from the gears, and they continued turning.

"Look, the gears have fixed themselves," Agumon observed.

"It must be Devimon!" Gabumon figured.

"And the island's moving again!" Matt realized as Tai ran off and looked through his telescope.

"We're moving alright. The other way! Back toward Infinity Mountain!" Tai shouted.

"And Devimon."

"If that's true, then this is no time for us to be fighting."

Matt nodded in response as the two clasped hands.

"No stinking gears are gonna stop us!" Tai shouted.

"Yeah. Together we're gonna be alright!" Matt added.

"Let's hope we all hang in there, guys..." HG sighed, "It's gonna be a tough fight, but one day, we will defeat Devimon."

They looked out across the water in response.

'And now I know my little brother will be alright, cause he has Patamon to take care of him when I can't be there,' Matt thought to himself, 'And I think as long as we can all trust each other, together it's a sure bet that we'll be able to fight, and beat Devimon!'


	10. The Legend of The Digidestined

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim,** **KTH4life**_ _**and** **Black Cat Angel** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.  
**_

**The Legend of The Digidestined**

Later on the ice...

"Any sign of land yet?" HG asked.

"Nope..." Tai sighed.

"Not much. All we see are icebergs," Agumon pointed out.

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a fish, right about now..." Gabumon sighed, stomach rumbling.

"I'm so hungry, I could have a Deermon, right about now..." Liollmon groaned.

"A Deermon? What's that?"

"I don't know, Gabumon... I just made that up, but- gosh, I wanna eat something..."

"Me too..."

Gabumon and Liollmon sighed in response.

"Maybe I could go for some rice and noodles..." HG muttered.

"I would too, but not my mom's cooking... Bleh!" Tai reacted.

"I wish we still had some food that Frigimon gave us."

"Yeah, such a wonderful guy we've ever met..." Liollmon added.

Suddenly, there were some bushes that they could see up ahead.

"Hey! Isn't that land?" HG called out.

"And aren't those berries?!" Tai gawked, somehow spotting the fruit from where they were.

"Finally! Food!" Gabumon and Liollmon cheered.

When they landed and looked closely...

"Uh- those berries don't look like they're real, but-" Matt started, looking hesitant.

"They're GOLDEN!" Gabumon gasped.

"I think my mouth is watering..." Liollmon smiled, almost drooling as HG picked one berry up and examined it.

"Hmm... Do you guys think these are edible?" HG checked, "I don't think they are, in my opinion."

"They sure are, to me!" Agumon smiled as Gabumon and Liollmon started chowing down.

"Are you guys sure we're allowed to eat those?" Tai asked.

"I guess we could-" Matt shrugged before they heard a scream, the group turning to see that it came from a place with large colorful cubes stacked to the sky.

"What's with those large colored cubes?!" Liollmon wondered.

"I don't know, but I think we need to Digivolve and see what's going on!" Gabumon realized.

"Let's do it!" Agumon shouted.

"Agumon digivolve to... Greymon!"

"Gabumon digivolve to... Garurumon!"

"Liollmon digivolve to... Liamon!"

Matt and HG quickly got on the backs of Garurumon and Liamon.

"Let's roll!" Tai ordered.

"Right!" Matt and HG nodded as they got closer to the cubes, feeling the ground start to get bouncy.

"Look, over there!" HG shouted, pointing out Leomon standing near a familiar boy like he was about to kill the boy.

"Is that-" Matt started before taking a good look and let out a gasp, "TK!" At long last, he found his little brother and he was ok! What a relief, unfortunately, that overgrown lion was going to maul TK! Not on his watch!

"I've been commanded by my master to take the Digidestined!" Leomon growled, lifting his blade as TK and Patamon cried out in fear.

"HOWLING BLASTER!"

From the side, Garurumon sent his blast out, forcing Leomon to jump away as Matt came out of the jungle, riding on Garurumon's back with HG and Liamon right behind them.

"TK!" Matt shouted.

"You came just in time!" TK smiled.

Garurumon stopped as Matt jumped down.

"That was close!" Matt replied.

Garurumon leaped off to continue the fight with the humanoid Lion Digimon.

"How did you find me?" TK asked.

"I had to, little bro. Someone has to help. Always," Matt replied, relieved to see his bro.

"Though he did make a lot of reckless decisions and left me alone in a cave when I needed help," HG pointed out.

"Left you alone, HG? Matt, why did you do that?" TK asked. How could Matt do that? Weren't they a team? Matt would never do such a thing. That was mean. Very, very mean.

"He got so caught up in trying to finding you, he couldn't think of anything else."

"Matt, you don't have anything else to say about it?"

Matt just looked away, embarrassed, not sure if he had a word TO say.

"Matt..." HG replied, knowing he had some.

"I'm sorry..." Matt finally whispered.

Patamon flew up to Liamon curiously. "Just who are you, anyway?"

"You know who I am! I'm Liamon! The Champion form of Liollmon," Liamon retorted.

"Oh... Now I get it. That's why you, HG and the others came to save us, right?"

"Exactly!"

"But what should we do?" Patamon asked, "There's no way we could take down Leomon's evil powers in the hands of Devimon!"

"Go behind me. I think I can take him down," Liamon instructed.

Garurumon fired another Howling Blaster, but Leomon cut through it with his sword as the two of them came sprinting out of the forest, right in view of Ogremon, the two quickly going into a stand-off.

Ogremon scoffed while holding a white baby Digimon in his hand, keeping him pressed up against his side with his forearm.

"Now you've done it!" Ogremon growled, not noticing a pair of gloved hands picking up the baby from his grasp, "This little guy's gonna get squished! "He then noticed the lack of Digimon in his grasp. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"He's staying with us!"

"Over my stinky armpits, he will."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Tai mocked, "Get him, Greymon!"

Hearing a deeply growling, Ogremon looked to his left, and standing there was Greymon.

"NOVA BLAST!"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with fire?" Ogremon shouted as he jumped out of the way, "Someone could get hurt! Namely, me!"

"You should get hurt! THUNDER OF KING!" Liamon growled as he launched his attack, Ogremon jumping out of the way.

"Now to agitate you, I'll show you who's the head honcho on this island!" Ogremon snapped as he jumped over, "I could fight you blindfolded!"

Greymon was unimpressed, swatting him away with his tail.

Six Black Gears flew out of a crack in the mountain as Garurumon and Leomon continued their fight. However, the Black Gears flew right into Leomon's back, filling him with loads of tension around his body, making the lion scream in pain, no one knowing what to expect on what could happen to him.

"The Black Gears!" Matt gawked as Leomon stood straight-up screaming, dark energy shooting out from him. The bipedal lion's body grew in size and bulk as his fur and mane turned dark, Garurumon growled and Leomon re-sheathed his sword.

"No! Turn back, or he'll beat you to a pulp!" Matt shouted as Leomon pulled his right fist back, then punched forward.

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" Leomon roared, launching an orange burst of energy that ended up slamming into Garurumon before he could dodge, knocking him through the air and into the side of the ridge nearby.

"Are ya okay? " Matt checked, Garurumon groaning in pain as the wolf was buried to his neck in rocks, not seeing Leomon turn his gaze to Greymon.

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" Leomon repeated, launching the same attack as he hit Greymon in the face and sent him crashing into the block towers.

"No! We need you, Greymon!" Tai gawked as he ran over.

"I told the guy not to play with fire," Ogremon muttered.

"I command you to bring me the Digidestined! Starting with the smallest child!" Devimon ordered Leomon through the mind as the lion turned to TK.

"I am your humble servant and will obey you...Devimon," Leomon responded, walking over to TK.

"TK, watch out!" Matt shouted, still by Garurumon.

"What now, Matt?" TK asked.

"Hurry! Move away!"

"BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon shouted, launching his attack, but even though it hit Leomon, he did not flinch in the slightest. "Oh, no! It's not working!"

In his hesitance, Leomon grabbed Patamon tightly in his grasp.

"Patamon!" TK gasped as Patamon tried to escape.

"Wanna fight? How bout a prickly big suit!" another voice shouted as Togemon slammed into Leomon's back, knocking Patamon out of his grip.

"Whoa! Togemon!" Matt gawked.

"Patamon!" TK shouted, rushing to his friend, "You gotta take it easy, buddy."

"I'm sorry," Patamon sighed.

"What for?"

"I was just trying to protect you," the Digimon sighed out of a bit of depression.

"And you were doin' great! Don't feel bad, little guy."

From the sky, Kabuterimon could be seen flying in with Izzy and Mimi riding on his shoulders.

"Tai! You're never going to believe this!" Izzy shouted.

"What's happenin', Izzy?" Tai asked.

Kabuterimon landed softly in front of Tai, HG, and their Digimon as Izzy hopped off his shoulders.

"We have a consummate solution to all our problems," Izzy explained, showing his Digivice.

"That's cool, but what are you talking about?" Tai asked.

"Check 'em out," Mimi smiled, holding hers up.

"They call them Digivices. They have the ability to completely obliterate the Black Gears!" Izzy explained.

"No way! Really?" HG gawked.

"Then let's give them a try!" Tai shouted, "We have no other choice right now. We have to take a chance and stop him!"

Leomon was soon back on his feet and approaching TK, but Matt rushed in, standing protectively of his brother.

"Don't worry, I've got you covered TK," Matt assured.

"Ready for a real fight?" Tai shouted.

"Huh?"

"What are you waiting for, bugger breath! Come and get us, if you dare!"

HG and Liamon stood with Tai, ready for battle.

"I won't lose to someone who has no free will," Liamon growled.

"This ends now," HG added.

"What up, dude? Have you totally flipped out?" Matt gawked at seeing Tai, but neither he nor Leomon could see the Digivices in their hands.

"I must do as I am commanded. Come here!" Leomon growled.

"Now!" Tai shouted as he and HG launched their Digivices forward, sending a bright light out at the black bipedal lion, Leomon yelling in pain and bending backwards as Black Gears slowly began to be pushed out of his body, but it was clear two Digivices weren't enough.

"You know, these things pack quite a punch," Matt realized, as he quickly ran forward to stand next to Tai and HG, holding his Digivice out as well, with the combined power of the three of them overwhelming Leomon as Ogremon stopped once he heard the pained cries of his partner, the light forcing the Black Gears from Leomon's back.

"How'd they do that? Rotten kids!" Ogremon gawked and growled, but...

"Ogremon, over here!" Izzy shouted.

"Huh?"

He quickly gasped as the ogre saw Kabuterimon standing behind Izzy.

"You've just begun to see our power!" the large beetle scoffed as he flew into the air, "Electro Shocker!"

Kabuterimon launched his electric burst, Ogremon only barely able to dodge before he ran away.

The Gears were soon rapidly expelled from Leomon's back and dissolved in the air. The bipedal lion then began to shrink back to his normal size. His fur and his mane back to normal before he fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"It worked! We destroyed the Black Gears!" Izzy cheered.

"Whoo!" HG hollered.

"We're safe now! Leomon's back to his normal self!" TK smiled, the group not seeing Ogremon watching from afar.

"Ha! Those little fools are kiddin' themselves! They don't know who they're dealing with!" Ogremon scoffed, "They're gonna find out sooner than they think!"

After this, he snickered and ran off.

Leomon sat against a tree with the kids forming a half-circle, with their Digimon beside them.

"According to an ancient legend, our world will be taken over by a strange dark force that will change good Digimon into bad ones," Leomon began to explain, "Our ancestors have predicted that a group of children called the Digidestined will appear from another world, when they arrive they will come to possess superpowers that will eventually save our world from destruction. I believe their prediction has come true. File Island has been seized by an evil power, we're in danger of destruction, and now, you've appeared."

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Tai gawked, "But tell me, how can you be sure we're the kids you're talking about?"

"Yeah, do you have proof that we're the same ones?" Matt added.

"It's been foretold that the Digidestined have the ability to make Digimon digivolve. You've done that and that's all the proof I need," Leomon informed.

"I, for one, hope that it's true," Izzy added, "My theory is that we'll be released after we save the island. Once our purpose is served there's no other reason for us to remain."

"And I'll finally be able to change these clothes!" Mimi replied.

"That's right! If Leomon's information is correct, we'll be heading straight for home!"

"I can't wait!"

"How can we make it happen?" Matt asked as he turned to Infinity Mountain, "We're not even sure who's causing it. What if it's a force that's too big for us to handle?"

"You see, Devimon is the main cause of all this evil," Leomon informed, "To save the island you're going to have to defeat him."

"Oh... That makes sense now," HG nodded, getting it as Tai stood up.

"Let's go for it!" Tai shouted, everyone making unsure noises, "Come on, everyone, why not? If we don't defeat him, it'll never be over! "

"Fine with me!" Izzy added, standing, "Besides, It's impossible for us to lose with the Digivices!"

"First thing on my list, when I get home, is to do some killer shopping!" Mimi said as she stood up.

"To do that, we actually have to get you home first," Palmon pointed out.

"If we all work together, we're sure to win, just like Tai said!" Tentomon added.

"That's right! This is our only chance to take down Devimon at all costs," Liollmon smirked.

"Let's all hope we stay alive..." HG sighed.

"I'm ready any time you are, buddy!" Agumon told Tai, who nodded.

"How about it, Matt? Are we up to the challenge, my friend?" Gabumon checked.

"It's gonna be tough, when you get down to it, we have no other choice," Matt shrugged as he looked at TK and Patamon, seeing both didn't want to mess this up.

"All right then, troops, let's get to it!" Leomon declared.

"Far out! It's a done deal!" Tai added as the kids cheered before they looked to the mountain.

XXXXXXXXXX

Leomon rowed the group in a boat to the base of the mountain.

"Devimon is very powerful," Leomon warned, "He's brought nothing but trouble to File Island, we must be careful."

Despite that, everyone remained quiet, leaving a solemn air while getting closer to the mountain.

"He will be waiting for us at the top of the mountain. Whatever you do, do not underestimate him," Leomon warned, "He will use every advantage at his disposal to destroy us."

"But why?" HG asked, "If Devimon's gained too much power, perhaps, then- will there be no more of the Digital World left, Leomon?"

"That depends on how much pain and suffering he would cause, HG. We do not know what he could do to our world or yours, next."

Devimon grinned evilly as he watched all this from a viewing window.

"That traitorous fool, Leomon, is leading them directly into my trap. Perfect!" Devimon smirked, "He's been very valuable to me."

"I guess so, but I'm loyal and better looking," Ogremon shrugged off.

"Listen to me! You will pay them one final visit. Ready!"

Ogremon's eyes widened fearfully when suddenly a long arm grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air. Devimon then focused his dark powers, turning the green Digimon into a swarm of more Black Gears.

The gears swirled around in the air as Devimon laughed maliciously.

"Hear this, Digidestined! My power is infinite! Your hopes and dreams are useless! I am the supreme ruler of this island!" Devimon shouted as the gears moved toward him, "If you dare to defy me, I will unleash the powers of the universe and conquer you!" More gears flew towards the mountain from around the pieces of the island, "You can't escape!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Out at sea, Sora and Joe were riding their Digimon back to Infinity Mountain as they saw a bunch of Black gears overhead, dozens of them.

"Oh no. What's that?" Sora gawked as she was sitting on Birdramon's talon.

"Big trouble is brewing. We better be ready for a fight," Birdramon warned.

"Black Gears!" Joe realized.

"This is going to be the big one, Joe, it's time to show your colors," Ikkakumon assured.

"Are you feeling okay down there, Joe?" Sora called out from above.

"Just a little seasick," Joe informed, but kept going.

XXXXXXXXXX

The gears all gathered at Devimon's castle, the mountain began to shake wildly as HG began to get scared.

"Can't turn back now!" Tai pointed out as Devimon broke the roof of the castle, nearly as big as the mountain itself, flaring his wings out to massive length to black out the already night sky.

"What in the world is that?" Mimi gawked.

"It must be Devimon," Tai deduced.

"I didn't expect him to be such a big guy," Palmon gawked.

"Bad guys always seem to think bigger is better," Izzy noted.

"Fraid not," Leomon muttered, drawing his sword, "The power that Devimon possesses is immense. You must be wary!"

Devimon jumped upwards, beating his tattered wings a bit before he landed at the base of Infinity Mountain with a great boom, causing the earth to shift some more.

"What should we do?" HG asked.

"A-Agumon. You better Digivolve!" Tai pointed out.

"Right!" Agumon nodded.

Unfortunately, the team was knocked back by a red and black beam of energy before they could do anything. His limbs spread out to smash all the children into the cliff, with Leomon trying to leap forward with his sword. However, Devimon held up his other huge hand and forced more energy to knock Leomon back.

"You are fools! Do not expect me to play silly games with you! I'm far too wise for that!" Devimon scoffed.

"HARPOON TORPEDO!"

"Gah!" Devimon screamed, flinching away from surprise at the sudden torpedo impact from Ikkakumon, who had just arrived with Birdramon.

"That's a bull's eye, Ikkakumon!" Joe cheered.

"METEOR WING!" Birdramon cried as the blasts on Devimon caused him actual pain, but very little damage.

"Quick everybody! There's no time to waste, we've got to strike right away!" Sora shouted.

"Digivolve!" Tai ordered.

"You've got it!" Agumon nodded, "Ready, gang?"

The rest of the Digimon nodded in response.

The Digivices, all but TK's, activated, the Digimon all began to glow with the light of Digivolution.

"Agumon, Digivolve to... Greymon!"

"Yeah! Go, Greymon!" Tai hollered.

"Gabumon, Digivolve to... Garurumon!"

"Let's turn this guy into pudding!" Matt cheered.

"Tentomon, Digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"

"My biology teacher would love this," Izzy smirked.

"Palmon, Digivolve to... Togemon!"

"I do like the way our colors match," Mimi muttered.

"Digivolve to... Liamon!"

"Let's rock this house!" HG shouted.

"NOVA BLAST!" Greymon roared as Devimon ducked it, Garurumon having jumped up at just that moment.

"HOWLING BLASTER!" Garurumon howled, but Devimon blocked the attack with his arm, even as Garurumon bit down on the arm with his teeth.

"I think he's got him!" Tai shouted, Devimon growling as he whipped his arm forward, sending Garurumon flying into Greymon and knocking them both to the ground.

"Greymon!" Tai gasped.

"Oh no!" Matt almost panicked.

"Your attacks are pitiful! I'm afraid you'll have to try harder than that!" Devimon scoffed.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!"

"THUNDER OF KING!"

"NEEDLE SPRAY!"

None of the attacks had any effect as the Electro Shocker fizzled out, the Thunder of King was swatted effortlessly and the needles bounced harmlessly off Devimon's body.

"Give up you fools! It's useless!" Devimon roared before he slammed his hand towards Togemon and Liamon, knocking them off the ledge, then swiped Kabuterimon out of the air.

"Oh, poor Togemon!" Mimi shrieked.

"Kabuterimon!" Izzy shouted.

"Liamon!" HG gasped, just as Leomon leaped forward, brandishing his sword.

"You're mine now!" the bipedal lion roared, aiming for the blind spot when suddenly, Ogremon emerged from Devimon's back.

"You!" Leomon gasped.

"You've got no chance against the likes of us, kitty cat!" Ogremon chuckled before he knocked Leomon away with another red and black blast, sending him deep into the forest as the green ogre laughed.

Devimon had a squirming Birdramon in his hand at the moment, "You're not worth my time!"

"Birdramon!" Sora shouted.

"Get out of my sight!"

He was quick to throwing the bird into Greymon who was just standing back up, which sent them both tumbling down the side of the mountain again.

"You're next!" Devimon smirked, reaching for Ikkakumon while Joe was shaking in fear

"HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon shouted, but the blast just bounced off uselessly, Devimon managed to grab him and lifted him into the air.

"Ikkakumon, no!" Joe shouted.

"ELECTRO SHO-agh!" Kabuterimon started, only for Devimon to whip around and hit him with Ikkakumon, sending them both to the ground.

"THUNDER OF KING!" Liamon roared, but he was soon thrown off and down to the ground.

"Oh boy! There's nobody left! What do we do, Patamon?" TK panicked.

"Now I shall deal with you! Then I'll have nothing to fear!" Devimon chuckled as he reached his right hand out for the boy, "They say the smallest will destroy me, but I'm not going to let that happen! Don't move, make it easy on both of us."

Time seemed to slow down as he reached forward, Patamon thinking of how to handle this.

Matt ran forward to try and help his brother, Garurumon passing him by, both protect TK no matter what. Garurumon leapt through the air, latched his jaws on Devimon's arm again.

"TK, run!" Matt shouted.

Devimon growled in annoyance, but before he could toss Garurumon away, the other Digimon moved in as Greymon latched onto his left leg, sinking his teeth into his calf muscle, Birdramon went for his face, Kabuterimon sank his claws and teeth into his shoulder, Liamon took a bite by jumping on his back, Togemon jumped up onto his right thigh, trying to stick him with her needles, and Ikkakumon clutched his left foot.

"You seem to forget! I am Devimon! Supreme master of this island! I have power over all digimon, no one can conquer me!" The dark Digimon roared as black and red energy shot out of his whole body in a dome, pushing the entire team off of his body, the kids struggling before they got slammed into the cliff... All the kids and digimon lay motionless on the ground.

"Whoa, that guy really knows how to take it out of ya," Greymon grunted.

"I can't move. Even my needles feel numb," Togemon groaned.

"Now is probably not a good time to take a nap," Kabuterimon added, drained as Ikkakumon just groaned in pain.

"This is bad..." Tai gulped.

"Matt!" TK cried out.

"You will be mine!" Devimon growled as he reached for the boy again.

"Hey! Get ready to run!" Matt shouted.

TK was barely able to lift his head, but it was enough to see the hand reaching for him and he and Patamon screamed in fear.

Patamon looked even more in a panic, thinking things a million miles a second before he finally forced himself into action, blowing out a Boom Bubble that had no effect. He tried again with no luck.

'What do I do? TK's in danger, I've got to protect him!' Patamon thought to himself as tears swelled in his eyes, 'I don't understand it! It isn't working! Oh, why can't I Digivolve!'

Devimon's hand grew closer with each second until it was nearly able to grab the young boy.

"Patamon, help!" TK pleaded as Patamon got serious.

"Don't worry, TK!" Patamon shouted as he ended up jumping in the way of the grasping hand.

Devimon clenched his hand into a fist and began to squeeze.

"Hang on, pal!" Matt shouted while struggling to push himself up.

TK's Digivice began to glow, a light shone out from Devimon's hand, shocking him.

"What!?" Devimon gawked as the light grew too bright for him, burning his palm, forced to let it go, "Gah!"

"What's that?" Mimi gawked at the orb of light.

"It's, uh..." Izzy uttered, not sure what to say.

"It's Patamon! He must be about to Digivolve!" Sora realized.

The orb of light rose higher into the air, growing brighter.

"Patamon, Digivolve to..." Patamon as he surprisingly turned into a human-like form with a white outfit and blue ribbons, golden medals all over, and a black helmet along with a golden staff, and multiple wings out of his back, "Angemon!"

"Hey, Patamon finally digivolved!" Joe gasped.

"That's super cool!" Sora added

"Not bad, that little guy really had it in him," Matt complimented.

"Patamon is an angel?" HG gasped.

"Nice hair, good color," Mimi noted.

Tai and Izzy just stared in shock at the sight.

"I wanna take him home with me," TK whispered.

"What's this? Another foolish attempt?" Devimon scoffed.

"The forces of good are more powerful. Even you can't stop us," Angemon replied as he held his staff above him, the weapon glowing, "I'll destroy you and bring peace to the Island."

Light suddenly shot out of all the Digivices and was absorbed into Angemon's weapon, almost blinding Devimon.

"That light is so bright! What are you doing to me!?" the demon shouted as Ikkakumon shined and reverted to Gomamon.

"Gomamon!" Joe gasped as Greymon returned to Agumon.

"Stop it! I'm not going to allow you to take my power away, you'll have to fight me!" Devimon roared, shielding his eyes.

"I'm afraid I have no other choice," Angemon signed, twirling his staff around above his head till he held it like a sword, "If I can save others, my fate is unimportant!"

"Angemon!" TK cried out, already worried about what would happen.

"Your powers have gotten far out of control and must be extinguished!" Angemon responded as he swung his staff forward, "I am ready to fight for peace!"

Ogremon shot out of Devimon's chest, laughing maniacally, but got sent right back through from the shining staff, leaving a hole in Devimon's chest and out into the jungle.

"Now you've done it!" Devimon growled as Angemon's staff shrunk, flowing into Angemon's right hand as he pulled his fist back.

"Be careful!" TK pleaded.

"I'll get him, relax," Angemon assured.

"Come here, pretty boy!" Devimon scoffed, reaching for Angemon who reeled his fist back.

"HAND OF FAITH!" Angemon shouted as he punched forward, a beam of orange and white light tore through the demon as the light quickly turned into a dome that expanded until it covered everything, purifying the entire island as all Black Gears destroyed, turning into dust.

However, this also started a process which was doing the same to both him and Devimon, who had shrunk back to his normal size dissolving into purple energy from the feet up. Angemon was also dissolving, but into white energy from his ankles.

"You have used up all your power. That wasn't very smart, Angemon," Devimon scolded mockingly, "Now you are no use to anyone! You can't get away from the dark forces. Evil is everywhere. So don't savor your victory. There are other digimon just as powerful as I am. Some are even stronger. I wonder what you'll do when you run into them. You haven't won at all. What a waste of time!"

Devimon cackled maniacally before he finished dissolving, leaving Angemon hovering midair.

"Angemon!" TK cried, getting the angel's attention as he soon smiled.

"TK, I'll come back again, if you want me to," Angemon assured before he finished disappearing.

"Angemon!" TK cried as he fell to the ground, not seeing the feathers from the Digimon's wings landed in a neat little pile, but noticed when they began to glow, which faded and left behind a white digi-egg with orange stripes.

"What do you know, it's a digi-egg," Tentomon realized.

"Do you think it could be Angemon?" TK asked.

"I know it is, he's just resting for a while to regain his strength," Gabumon answered.

"But don't worry, you'll see him again when he Digivolves," Palmon smiled.

"I will make sure to take really good care of him," TK sniffled, taking and hugs the egg tightly, "You saved my life Angemon."

As this happened, the kids heard a rumbling, turning to see the parts of the island start to reconvene.

"Huh? Look! The island is coming back together again!" Sora shouted.

"Exactly! Devimon was defeated. When evil is eliminated, the island returns to its natural state," Izzy deduced.

Out in the forest, Ogremon pulled himself up as he looked around and grinned evilly.

"With Devimon out of the way, I can take over now!" Ogremon laughed maliciously as he turned around and saw Leomon standing before him.

"Hello. You forgetting about me?" Leomon responded as Ogremon ran away.

"Leomon! Get me out of here! Why can't the bad guys ever win?"

Back up on the slope, the group weren't being sent home, leaving them confused and almost worried, but HG was the only one a bit relieved.

"What's up with those evil Digimon across the sea?" Matt wondered.

"Yeah, I thought we were going home," Joe added.

"I don't want to have to fight again! Oh, I think I broke a nail," Mimi whined.

"Well, according to Leomon's legend, we gotta do it. Remember, he said we're the Digidestined!" Tai pointed out.

"How will we do that? We're on just one little island; the Digital World might be as big as our world for all we know," HG pointed out before they all gasped as they felt a rumble.

"Something's happening!" Joe panicked as rocks disassembled leaving a small technological looking device built into the ground. A rainbow beam of energy appears from the center and the kids all "ooh" and "ah".

A holographic old man appeared in the beam, clearly wrinkled and beyond his years with white hair in a long mustache and a ponytail, one visible tooth out of his mouth, and wore a dark blue and reddish-orange outfit.

"Eh, I've heard of you kids. I must say, I'm pleased," he complimented.

"Excuse me, sir, tell us...who are you and what do you want?" Tai asked.


	11. Departure For A New Continent

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim,** **KTH4life**_ _**and** **Black Cat Angel (wherever she disappeared to)** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.  
**_

**Departure For A New Continent**

"After the Digimon defeated Devimon, we thought the worst was over. And then, a mysterious being appeared before us," Tai explained.

The kids looked to see the old guy they just met who was in a hologram.

"So, you children are the Digidestined. You must be strong to have defeated Devimon," the old man mused.

"Who are you?" Tai asked.

"Are you a friend of Devimon's?" Matt asked, still suspicious.

"Fear not, for I am a friend to all, and yet I am a friend to none," the old man assured.

"Uh... What does that even mean?" HG questioned while the other kids were shocked.

"I can't believe it. There are actually other humans besides us in this world," Sora gawked.

"I am human, and yet I am not human," the man answered.

"This is confusing," Mimi sighed.

"Hmph! My name is Gennai. I couldn't send you this transmission during your battle with Devimon, but now the lines are clear, and only ten cents a minute!"

"Well who are you? And just where are you?" Izzy asked.

"I am speaking to you far away from File Island. Across the ocean, on the continent of Server."

"Talk about a long-distance call. How long have you been here?" Sora asked.

"Since before the beginning, and until after the end."

"Are you the one who got us stuck here in the Digital World?" Mimi almost demanded.

"It was not I."

"Then who was it?" Mini asked.

"I don't know," Gennai mumbled, loud enough for the kids to hear as they sighed in disappointment.

"But Mister Gennai, sir, do you know what we need to do so we can all get back home again?" TK asked.

"No, I don't,"

The kids sighed again.

"Boy, you're a regular fountain of information, aren't you?" Tai scoffed with his arms crossed and one eye closed.

"I'm sorry I can't help you. But you can be of help to me," Gennai answered, earning a few 'how's, "Please come to Server and defeat our enemies. As the Digidestined, I have faith in all of you."

The Digidestined began to question themselves in their thoughts.

"That's crazy when we don't know your exact location," Izzy pointed out aloud.

"Good point," Gennai realized, "I forgot you're from out of town. Let me create a map for you on your computer."

"Huh? Wha?"

"What if your enemies are humongazoid? Do you think we can beat anything tougher than Devimon?" Joe countered in his own fear.

"Not presently, but if your digimon can Digivolve once more, you might be able to do it," Gennai figured.

"So we can Digivolve even more?" Agumon asked.

"But you'll need something special to do it," Gennai explained as the hologram showed a small rectangular object next to a golden pendant with a rectangular glass front, "If you have the Tags and Crests, your Digimon will be able to Digivolve even further."

"Please tell us where we can find these Tags and Crests," Gabumon requested.

"Well the Crests are scattered about. You can locate them all throughout the continent of Server," Gennai answered as the Crest inserted into the Tag before he returned to the view, "And the Tags were secretly sealed away somewhere by Devimon."

Suddenly, the hologram began to get staticy and fizzle out.

"Oh no!... Devimon..." Gennai reacted, losing coherency, "You must...come... Aaah! Come...quickly. I'll be waiting... Server!"

The kids began to panic as the hologram faded out.

"He's gone!" Tai gawked.

"What was that?" Mimi wondered.

The group then sat around the holographic device for a few minutes, hoping he'd come back.

"Where'd he go?" HG wondered.

"Gennai's transmission ended rather abruptly," Tentomon noted.

Izzy sat himself down and opened his laptop.

"Well, at least he was able to send the map through before he got cut off," Izzy noted, pulling up the map on his screen as HG looked at the map.

"That part looks like Italy," she said, pointing to one boot-shaped area.

"I wonder where Gennai lives... He could be anywhere," Izzy wondered.

"I hope he's alright. What's our next move going to be?" Sora wondered.

"I have a foolproof plan. First we'll eat something, and after that I'm open to suggestions," Tai replied.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was late at night time, stars shimmering through the trees along with a shooting star while Gomamon popped out of the water with a fish in his mouth.

"That was delicious!" Agumon laughed with a smile.

"I was so hungry!" Biyomon giggled.

"Now that my stomach is full, I'm ready for lunch!" Tentomon smiled as TK and the kids were sitting near the water, TK himself staring at his Digiegg while rubbing the shell.

"TK?" Matt spoke up, snapping TK out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I was just wishing my Digiegg would hurry up and hatch already so it could grow up!" TK replied.

"Don't sweat it, little bro. When your Digimon hatches, it will be the coolest one yet!"

"Egg-xactly!" TK quipped as he stood up.

"Okay, everyone, now that we've stuffed our faces, what are we gonna do next?" Tai checked.

"You know what's next. We have to go to Server to save Gennai from his enemies," Sora pointed out.

"Well, according to my calculations of longitude and latitude, I'd say Server is quite some distance from here," Izzy admitted.

"What does that mean, Izzy?" HG asked.

"It means we're really far away from Server," Izzy explained.

"I can't even swim across the bathtub, let alone an ocean. I'll never make it," Mimi whined.

"Why do we have to go, anyway?" Joe asked, "What I mean is, Devimon's gone from the island. The Black Gears have disappeared too. We've been once around the island, so we pretty much know where everything is. We wouldn't have to worry about food or water."

"What are you saying?" Sora asked.

"Why should we believe what this weirdo Gennai guy says? What I mean is, how do we even know that this place, Server, even really exists?"

"What are you thinking?" Tai asked, standing up, "If we hang around here, guys, we'll never get back home!"

"Yeah..." HG replied, with a sigh, admitting... "And I miss a lot of things back home..."

"I don't know, guys. Devimon almost got us. Maybe we shouldn't go. At least we know what we're up against over here," Sora pointed out.

"And even if we wanted to go, what mode of transportation could we utilize?" Izzy asked as he closed his laptop.

"We don't even know what the fashions are like on Server," Mimi replied as Joe nodded.

"Maybe we should stay here a while longer and think this through," Matt figured.

"What's with you, man!?" Tai asked.

"Let's go!" TK shouted, getting a shocked reaction from the others.

"TK?"

"We don't know what kind of danger will be waiting for us, but let's see! I'm sure Angemon would say the same thing if he were still around. So I'm going!"

"We'll go too! If we have the Tags and Crests, we'll be able to Digivolve again, right?" Agumon smiled, "Once we transform into our new shapes, we'll be able to protect you for sure!"

"You da 'Mon!" Tai smirked.

"It doesn't matter what shape or size we are as Digimon! We are one! All for one, and one for all!" Liollmon added.

"Now we're cookin'!" HG smiled.

"Sora, so what do you say?" Biyomon asked.

"Our chances for success are extremely high," Tentomon added.

"Come on, Mimi! I'll bet you we'll be the prettiest flowers on all of Server!" Palmon added.

"Don't worry about me. I'll swim to Server," Gomamon smiled.

"Come on, let's do it," Gabumon added.

"Let's go," Matt nodded.

"Count me in!" Sora added as she stood up.

"Kay, I'll go. I'm convinced," Joe nodded, also standing.

"Well, I'm not staying by myself, I'll go too!" Mimi squealed, standing up.

"Alright, it's unanimous!" Izzy figured.

"That's great! It's decided! We're going to Server!" Tai cheered.

The next morning, the kids and their partners were hard at work.

"PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon shouted, hitting a tree with his attack.

"Timber!" Tai shouted as the tree fell.

"BLUE BLASTER!" Gabumon shouted, knocking down another tree.

"At our current rate, it will take us forever to build a raft," Izzy calculated.

"Don't worry about it, Izzy. It's not like we're in any kind of hurry," Sora shrugged before turning and gasping seeing a familiar face. "Huh? Ahh!"

"Leomon!"

"So I heard you were all going to Server," Leomon replied.

"How did you know?" Sora asked.

"Oh, you know us monsters, we all love to gossip. I thought I'd see if you needed some help with anything."

"You mean you'll really help us?"

"I've got some friends who want to help as well," Leomon figured as he turned as various Digimon that the kids saved or befriended walked over, including a red and blue rodent-like Digimon on all fours named Elecmon, Centarumon who was a centaur with a helmet covering all but one eye and his body having cybernetic enhancements that Izzy and Mimi said that they saved him from a Black Gear and told them the legend of the Digivices, and Mojyamon.

"Elecmon!" Izzy gawked.

"Mojyamon and Centarumon too!" Tai realized.

"Yeah, hi! What's up?" Elecmon greeted.

"Monzaemon!" Mimi giggled.

"Hey, look! It's Frigimon!" TK gawked seeing the snow-mon, Joe shivering as the Digimon passed by.

"Hey, look, it's Meramon!" TK added as they saw Yokomon with him.

The Yokomon swarming over Biyomon causing her to laugh out loud.

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" Leomon shouted as he cut down a good dozen trees.

"Wow, Leomon!" Agumon gawked.

Meramon was also taking the huge logs and burning away the branches before tossing them through the air for Centarumon to shorten with an energy blast.

"Ooh... Yeah! That's the way you do it, Meramon!" HG cheered.

Later, the logs were placed into the raft as the Digimon all cheered as they broke out of the forest into the open air for a few seconds before they slid down the slope and dropped into the water. The kids all ran out of the forest to join their Digimon, laughing and cheering themselves.

"Alright!" Tai smiled.

"It's hydrodynamically designed!" Izzy proudly stated.

"I think I'm getting seasick already," Joe muttered.

"Oh, relax, Joe! Besides, with this raft we've built, this could be our greatest adventure yet!" HG giggled.

"Yeah, get a grip, Joe, it'll have to do," Tai added.

"Believe me, that raft is strong enough to get you across the ocean," Leomon assured.

"Thanks, Leomon. We never could have done it without your help."

"Ah!" TK gasped as his egg shifted and cracked.

"What is it?" Matt asked as the crack spread and the top popped off to show a tiny white blob with black dots for eyes.

"Digiegg, you hatched!" TK smiled as the Digimon jumped, landing in TK's hands.

"Poyo. Poyomon!" the white blob smiled.

"How cute!" Mimi giggled.

"That's great!" Sora smiled.

"You don't say!" HG added.

"Yay! Yay! He did it! Yay!" TK laughed, nuzzling the white jellyfish.

"Poyomon is a jellyfish type Digimon of few words, but if his friends are in trouble, he's ready for action," Tentomon stated.

The kids quickly climbed onto the raft and turned to face the Digimon of File Island to give their last goodbyes.

"This is goodbye," Leomon bid.

"And good luck!" Frigimon smiled.

"Thanks!" Tai called out.

"Goodbye!" Sora shouted.

The kids waved goodbye, wishing the Digimon of File Island the best of luck in the future and giving promises to come back someday.

"So we finally sailed away from File Island which gave us the start of our adventure," HG narrated, "When we had to survive on our own, we grew up really fast. We don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of the ocean, but whatever it is, hopefully we'll face it together."

XXXXXXXXXX

The group of kids continued to venture out to sea, riding the currents as Tai looked out his telescope.

"I can't see anything," Tai sighed.

"I wonder how much longer this trip will take," Joe wondered.

"Chill out, Joe. We just left."

"The salt air is killing my sinuses. And we've only got enough food for two weeks."

"If we run out of food, we'll catch some fish!"

"Well, the one good thing is, this is beautiful weather for sailing," Sora figured.

"Ugh! I don't feel so good," Mimi groaned.

"I didn't calculate for these waves being so rough," Izzy added, gripping his gut.

TK sat playing with Poyomon as the jellyfish kept bouncing, but a wave knocked the boat forward suddenly, while Poyomon was in the air.

"Whoa! Oh, Poyomon, be careful," TK called out before catching him as a wave began to grow.

"Look! Tidal wave!" Tai shouted.

The wave grew and grew before it crashed, it nearly missed the raft, leaving everyone in the raft clueless to what just happened.

"That had to be twelve feet tall!" Matt gawked.

"Eighteen point three, to be exact," Izzy slightly corrected.

"Was that another boat that caused that wave?" Joe wondered.

"There's no boat that can do that," Tai reacted as he looked ahead to see some kind of object above the water.

"An Island!" Tai gawked, the brown surface getting closer, but Sora noticed something about it.

"An island? Since when does an island have fins?" Sora gawked, seeing the shape of the 'island' go beneath the waves to show some kind of whale shape.

"Head's up!" Tai shouted as everyone braced for some kind of impact.

"Whamon is a giant digimon who lives in the deep oceans of the Digital World. It's jet arrows are unbelievable," Tentomon described as they saw Whamon's fluke and later head breach the water.

"It was massive!" Gabumon gawked.

"A Whamon can sometimes be fierce, but I've never seen one act this aggressive!"

Whamon soon surfaced and opened its giant mouth, the kids letting off some screams as they were quickly engulfed into the whale's mouth.

"I hope we don't give him a sore throat!" Sora gulped.

"Technically, it's not the throat, it's the esophagus that leads to the stomach!" Izzy corrected.

"He thinks we're fast food!" Joe gawked.

"So he really did eat us!" Mimi panicked.

"Sooner or later this has to lead to an exit!" Sora shouted.

"If we do, we'll be dead meat!" HG pointed out.

"This is damaging my hair all the way to the roots!" Mimi whined.

"Use my roots!" Palmon offered.

"You're a plant!"

The group landed in some kind of chamber, which could best be described as the stomach, where more fluid was filling in.

"What is that gross, gooey junk?" Tai reacted in disgust over the weird slimy beings getting close to them.

"Maybe they're antibodies! They're attacking us because they think we're germs or something!" Izzy deduced as more and more of the jelly things surrounded their raft as the waters rose until finally, it stopped and the objects seemed to back off.

"Finally, we stopped! Is everyone okay?" Sora checked.

"I think we're all getting closer to our exit," HG gulped.

"What are you talking about?" Joe asked.

"She means anatomically speaking, this would be the stomach," Izzy explained.

"The stomach? Isn't that where food goes after it's chewed up?" TK checked.

"Yeah," Matt confirmed.

Red lights lit up on the walls as a yellowish liquid poured in.

"Gastric juice!" Izzy gasped.

"What?" Mimi asked.

"It's the acid in the stomach that dissolves the food!"

The antibodies soon reached the edge of the raft, creating a steam from the wood.

"We're melting!" TK panicked.

"Don't let it get on you!" Tai shouted.

"We better get out of here before we give him a major ulcer," Joe reacted out of fear as Sora noticed something.

"Tai, look up there!" she shouted, pointing to the roof of the stomach.

"It's a Black Gear!" he realized.

"That's why Whamon was acting so aggressive," Agumon added.

"Joe, do something to help!" Gomamon shouted.

"Why me?" Joe panicked.

"Somebody can climb on these. POISON IVY!" Palmon shouted, launching her vines up towards the gear.

"Right, I'll do it!" Tai nodded as he quickly started swinging on the vines like monkey bars when his Digivice glowed before it destroyed the gear.

"Whoa!" Tai screamed, falling back to the raft. "Okay, I destroyed it!"

A bright white light shone out through the organ as the raft began to lift into the air, making the kids scream.

"Incoming blowhole!" HG shouted as everyone on the raft held on tight for their lives.

The kids were blown out the blowhole and into the ocean, and by this point everyone was stuck holding on to logs.

"Sora, are you okay?" Biyomon checked.

"Ech! Yeah," Sora nodded, spitting out some of the fluids that got in her mouth.

"Somehow, we got out of there," Agumon noted.

"Yeah," Tai nodded in agreement.

"Poyomon, talk to me!" TK pleaded as he was sitting on a log like he was riding a horse, Matt and Gabumon on either side of the same log.

"Poyo," Poyomon muttered, letting TK relax a bit.

"You're okay!"

Suddenly, Whamon turned and made his way over to the group.

"Go away! Not again!" Mimi shrieked.

"Sorry about that. I must have had a tummy ache or something," Whamon apologized, making the kids look a bit surprised, but they were still relieved.

"It's okay, we all know it wasn't your fault," Biyomon assured.

"That's right, it was the Black Gear inside you," Sora confirmed.

"Those black gears are rude, I'll bet that's the last one," Tai sighed.

"I'll bet you're wrong!" Joe countered.

"Thanks, kids, I owe you one," Whamon replied gratefully.

"Don't mention it, Whamon. It was our pleasure," Tai smiled.

"Maybe you could help us now," HG figured.

"Of course, I can! What do you all need?" Whamon inquired.

"Well, we're trying to get to Server. Do you know how far it is?"

"Yes, it would take me five days, um, three in a half without traffic."

"Great, our raft's broken," TK pouted.

"Since you're trying to go there, I'll take you there, myself. It's not everyday that your lunch saves your life."

"Really?" Sora gawked.

"Yay! Hooray! Ah!" Mimi cheered, but started to get swept away as she accidentally let go of her log.

"There," Palmon responded, grabbing Mimi.

With a single flip of his tail, Whamon shot off like a rocket of the sea.

"This is great," Sora smiled.

"This sure is a whole lot faster and smoother than that raft," Izzy noted.

"Which means I won't get seasick!" Mimi smiled.

"Now, if we only knew where we could find those Tags and those Crests that Devimon hid somewhere," Tai muttered.

"Did you say Devimon?" Whamon checked.

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"Well, I don't know anything about Tags and Crests, but a while ago, Devimon hid something, deep at the bottom of the ocean."

"Can you tell us where?"

"It's on the way to Server. You could all ride inside me and I'll take you there. But no tickling!"

"We understand!" HG nodded as the group quickly got into Whamon's mouth as he dove under.

He dove deeper and deeper as he swam into an underwater cave, surfacing to let the kids out.

"I'm so out of shape," he sighed, "I have to rest here for a while. I gotta drop a couple thousand pounds."

"Thanks, Whamon," Tai smiled.

Amidst the dark spaces, stalactites and stalagmites, the kids looked around and ended up finding... a convenience store.

"What's that?" Joe wondered.

"Sign says Deli Mart," HG noted.

A crack appeared in the ground and a drill popped out, revealing a drill nosed mole with purple fur on top, tan fur on the bottom, and green eyes and sharp teeth.

"What is it?" Matt gawked.

"Drimogemon!" Gomamon realized.

"Drimogemon lives deep inside the earth, drilling tunnels. He uses his Iron Drill Spin and Crusher Bone to wipe out his enemies," Tentomon explained before Sora saw something in Drimogemon's back.

"Ah, a Black Gear!" Sora gawked, pointing to the gear lodged into the Digimon's back.

"I knew that couldn't have been the last Black Gear!" Joe panicked.

"It is Lord Devimon's will that no one shall pass!" Drimogemon roared.

"Tai, leave this to us digimon. You try to find the Tags," Agumon responded.

"I got it!" Tai nodded as he tried to go into the store.

"Ha! You think that drill scares us? Think again!" Gomamon scoffed.

"Gomamon, digivolve to... Ikkakumon!"

"DRILL SPIN!"

Ikakkumon quickly ended up blocking his drill nose with his black horn

"Now's our chance!" Tai shouted, leading the group past the fighters.

Once inside, the kids spread out, looking for the Tags.

"TK, Joe, Mimi. Take whatever food that is still good. We'll make a count of what we lost from the raft's destruction," HG responded.

"Why do I have to do this?" Mimi asked.

"HG has a point. We need to make sure we have enough for everyone, Mimi, and we all need to pull our weight, so let's get looking," Joe replied.

"I'm on it. Stay close, Poyomon," TK responded as his partner gripped tightly.

As the kids got into the store, Drimogemon crashed into the windows.

"Ikkakumon, you got him down! Get 'em!" Joe cheered.

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

Ikkakumon blasted shook the place up, causing some of the shelves to fall and dust to fill the air.

"I think it's time I joined the battle!" Tentomon figured, rushing in.

"Tentomon, digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"

"Grah! CRUSHER BONE!" Drimogemon roared, spinning it around in the air like a buzz saw blade, but Kabuterimon simply dodged.

"Kabuterimon! Aim for the Black Gear!" Agumon shouted as the beetle flew behind the mole.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" he shouted, destroying said gear.

Inside the store, the kids were still looking for what they could, TK having lost Poyomon.

"Poyomon! Where are you? Poyomon!" he called out before seeing his partner hiding under one of the shelves, just missing being crushed by one.

"Oh, Poyomon! Come on, you can't stay in this store!" TK scolded, lifting the baby up to see he held onto a little treasure box out, "What's in the box?"

"Please forgive me for attacking you," Drimogemon apologized to the group, about to dig off.

"Pardon me, do you know where the Tags are?" Gabumon asked.

"The Tags should be in the convenience store next to the jerky."

Matt opened the box and it revealed several golden pendants with rectangular slots on the front.

"The Tags," he realized.

"Just like the ones Gennai showed us during his transmission," Izzy realized.

"How pretty!" Mimi smiled.

"That's what we need!" HG added.

Ten minutes later, the group were back in the open sea air, all admiring sunset as each of them had their Tags.

"Remember what Gennai told us, you guys. The crests are scattered throughout the continent of Server," Matt reminded.

"And if we get both the Tags and the Crests," Gabumon started.

"We'll all be able to Digivolve once again," Agumon finished.

"Then we'll just have to go out there and find the Crests!" Tai smirked.

"And once we find them all, we can take down all those evil Digimon!" HG added.

"That's right! We've got this, people!" Liollmon cheered.

They cheered as they continued their journey, even though it was just getting started. Despite this, as long as the kids had their Digimon, everything would be okay, for sure!


	12. The Dark Network of Etemon

_**I thank TKNRKRGaim,** **KTH4life**_ _**and** **Black Cat Angel (wherever she disappeared to)** **for helping me. Digimon belongs to Toei, not me.  
**_

**The Dark Network of Etemon**

Five days passed surprisingly quickly for the team. It was nice to get a break from all the fighting the gang had, simply getting the chance to relax in the fresh air. In fact, there was nothing to do but relax and sleep on Whamon. Though at the moment, Tai was the only one awake.

"We left File Island almost five days ago," he noted.

"We're almost there," Whamon called out.

Tai took out his telescope and saw just over the horizon were... rocks.

"Hey, I think I see an iceberg. Either that, or it could be the continent of Server!" Tai called out.

"It's Server," Whamon smiled, speeding up.

"Alright! Woohoo!" Tai cheered as he started jumping up and down, "Alright everybody, wake up! Rise and shine! We're landing at Server!"

"I was only resting my eyes," Matt drowsily muttered.

"Well, your eyes were snoring pretty loudly," Joe quipped.

"Come on!" Tai shouted as he was shaking the shoulders of Sora and HG, "We're gonna be there in a few minutes! We've gotta make sure we have everything we need!"

HG woke up just behind Sora, rubbing her eyes as they struggled to get up for a moment.

"Wait, what's goin' on, Tai?" HG asked.

"We've arrived! Well, we're about to," Tai informed.

"We're really there?" Sora gawked.

"Well, I'm ready for land again!" Izzy smiled.

"I'd sure like a bed that didn't move," TK admitted.

"That's good. I needed some land so I could kiss the ground again," HG smiled before looking embarrassed, "Not that I actually do that."

"Wow, that island's huge!" Agumon gawked.

"I've never seen an island so big!" Biyomon added.

"It's not an island, it's the continent of Server," Tentomon announced.

"Mimi, you've just got to wake up and look at this! We're going to land on a big continent!" Palmon tried to wake the still sleeping Mimi.

"Mm, no, I'm getting a pedicure..." Mimi murmured in her sleep.

"Aw, Mimi,"

Everyone apart from Palmon burst into laughter.

-Twenty minutes later-

"We're almost there!" Biyomon cheered.

"Server, here we come!" TK smiled.

Later, the group were next to or on a rock out cropping by the sea, with Tai being on dry land with Agumon, Matt, TK and Sora as HG, Joe and Izzy were behind them, looking to Mimi on Whamon.

"Come on, Mimi," Sora encouraged.

"Um, this is a little too extreme sports for me. Is there some way I could be airlifted onto the island?" Mimi asked, clearly worried.

"Are you kidding, Mimi? That's just impossible," HG facepalmed.

"Sorry we can't just move the continent for you, Mimi," Izzy replied, "Now, according to the map, this is the best beach to come ashore."

"Just put one foot in front of the other and you'll be fine, really. It's as easy as falling off a log, Mimi," Joe tried to comfort.

"Yeah, well I've fallen off plenty of logs and believe me it's not as easy as it looks!" Mimi whined.

Suddenly, Whamon bounced himself as Mimi slid down before flying off Whamon's tail and landed on top of Izzy.

"I think I broke a nail."

"Good luck finding the Crests!" Whamon bid as he left to go back out to sea. The children waved their goodbyes as the tail of Whamon dove beneath the waves.

"So what are we going to do now?" Mimi asked.

"While you were asleep, Whamon told us where to go," Palmon explained, "In the forest, a few miles from here, there's a Koromon village."

"Koromon? Why that somehow sounds familiar." Mimi wondered.

"I was a Koromon the day you got here," Agumon reminded.

"I forgot."

"The Koromon are a group of Digimon always willing to help out those in need," Tentomon recalled.

"Okay, gang! Let's move out!" Tai called out.

The group nodded as they marched out.

'I gotta admit, this new world has so much to explore. That combined with how I have such cool friends... I feel like I have to push on... to help them at the very least,' HG thought to herself as they began to cross a large desert.

"This place is bigger than I thought," Sora panted.

"It's simple physics, the universe is expanding," Izzy noted.

"I think my feet are expanding," Joe complained, "We've been walking all day long and there's no sign of the village yet."

"Oh, I'd give anything to be in a nice clean bathtub with lots of bubble bath in it," Mimi sighed.

"You can do that once we get to the village," Palmon figured.

"You honestly think they have a bathtub, Palmon?"

"Well..."

"What I wouldn't do for some watermelon right now," HG sighed.

"Boy, I want a watermelon..." Liollmon nodded.

Agumon took a sniff, scenting something in the air and took off to the side.

"Agumon, what is it?" Tai asked.

"Tai, I smell Koromon over in this direction!" Agumon smiled.

"Really?" Tai gawked, looking through his telescope, "A forest!"

"A forest?" the kids gawked.

"Is that where the Koromon village is?" Matt asked.

"It must be! Come on!" Tai figured as he was about to move.

"Wait a minute!" HG shouted, causing them to stop.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"What's wrong, HG?" TK added.

"What if they're not friendly," HG pointed out.

"I believe they are, HG," Izzy assured her.

"Yeah, and besides that, they're all Koromon. And they should greet us with delight!" Tai added.

"That's right, Tai! Don't worry about it, HG! They'll be nice to us!" Agumon nodded.

The kids continued to trek through the forest.

"Almost there," Tai smiled as they soon came across a village with large buildings.

"Great! Pop tents! We can rest!" TK smiled.

"Even better! A bath!" Mimi added.

"Wait, stop!" Palmon interrupted.

"Ah..." Agumon muttered.

"Agumon, what is it? What's the matter?" Tai asked.

"Something doesn't feel right."

"What doesn't feel right?" HG added.

"I don't know, HG."

"Maybe if..." Tai pondered.

"Uh... maybe we should follow Mimi so she doesn't get into any trouble," Joe suggested.

"A bath! Somebody grab me a rubber duck!" Mimi smiled, approaching a small Digimon, "Excuse me, where's the shampoo?"

However, these weren't the pink long-eared Koromon. Instead, the gray blob with fluffy bunny ears turned to show their squinted orange eyes.

"Hmm?" the Digimon muttered.

"Palmon, do you really think that these are Koromon?" Mimi wondered.

"No way, Mimi. These are Pagumon," Palmon answered.

"Hmm, Pagumon. There are more to them than meets the eye," Tentomon muttered.

The duo were soon surrounded before Mimi ended up being carried off by the Pagumon.

"Oh no! They've got Mimi!" Palmon panicked.

"Don't let 'em get away!" Joe shouted as the group chased the Pagumon.

"Around that corner!" Gomamon hollered.

"Which way?" Tai asked as they soon saw the Pagumon carry Mimi.

"Whoa! Help!" she screamed as she was dragged into the biggest tent.

"To the tower!"

Tai ran in the tent, seeing stairs on either side of him along with a large center room.

"Mimi!" Tai called out.

"Hey, look up there!" Sora shouted, pointing to something on the stairs, "That's Mimi's hat! There's the price tag. It's Mimi's."

The group took the hat and continued up the stairs as they found a yellow curtained cove at the top of the steps.

"That's Mimi's purse. She never goes anywhere without it," Joe realized.

"Logically, that could mean only one thing, she's missing," Izzy noted.

"That's it!" Tai yelled.

HG looked to see some crates and baskets. In one of them, Sora also saw a pink dress in one of the baskets. But then she noticed Tai about to open the curtains.

"No Tai, don't go in there!" Sora shouted.

But it was too late as Tai ended up ripping the curtain to see... Mimi taking her bath, making Tai blush.

"Mimi, sorry!" Izzy muttered as Mimi looked over and gasped, covering herself with her hands.

"Haven't you two ever heard the phrase please knock before entering?" Mimi shouted.

"Mimi, we're here to rescue you, and...!" Tai tried to defend himself as Mimi ended up throwing bottles of shampoo, basins, anything she could get her hands, hitting Tai with a basin and Izzy with a bottle of shampoo. Both of them fell back, holding their faces in pain.

"I believe I said don't go in," Sora sighed, having closed the curtain.

"Ahh..." Tai muttered.

Later, the kids gathered together on the top floor of the tallest hut as the Pagumon were wearing funny party hats.

"Welcome to our village, we hope you never go. Stay and visit here with us and please enjoy the show!" they all sang and danced around.

"This is really a Pagumon village," Gabumon noted.

"Something doesn't seem right about that," Liollmon whispered.

"Lillomon's right. Something's wrong here, Gabumon," Agumon agreed, "I know what I smelled was Koromon! I'd bet my nose on it!"

"What are they carrying?" Liollmon wondered.

"Here's your pupu platter!" a Pagumon said, bringing a platter of fruits and berries.

"I feel just like a princess in a big, beautiful palace!" Mimi smiled.

"I once had a chihuahua named Princess," Joe muttered.

"These guys don't feel like they're being honest," HG muttered.

"No no, we really are grateful you're here," a Pagumon denied.

"Listen, Tai, HG might be onto something," Sora added, "You don't suppose this could be some kind of trick?"

"Course not. You don't think I know a good digimon from a bad one?" Tai shrugged.

"This is really strange. I always heard that Pagumon were awful pranksters," Tentomon pondered.

"You were just hearing an awful rumor," Gomamon shrugged.

"Nice of you to say that," another Pagumon smiled.

"These guys are really nice little Digimon," Biyomon smiled as she ate.

"Right!" Palmon agreed.

"Nice Digimon!" the Pagumon parroted.

"You like that?" TK checked as he was feeding Poyomon an orange fruit.

Poyomon smiled and nodded before becoming uneasy, closed his eyes, and began quivering as he glowed.

"Poyomon, Digivolve to... Tokomon!"

"Hey! He's Tokomon again!" TK cheered as Tokomon jumped up into his arms, nuzzling his partner.

"The food made him Digivolve," Tentomon realized.

"Congratulations," Matt smiled as TK laughed.

"Together we can make me Patamon again!" Tokomon smiled as TK nodded, no one noticing the Pagumon looking shocked.

"Let's hear it for Tokomon!" Mimi cheered as the kids and their Digimon began clapping.

"We're all very proud of your Tokomon, T.K.!" HG added with a smile of her own.

"Congratulations, way to go! We're so excited, all aglow!" the Pagumon added happily, no one noticing the glint in their eyes as they stared at the children and their Digimon, specifically TK and Tokomon... well, no one but HG.

"Uh, guys..." she uttered, but saw no one was paying attention.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that night, everyone was fast asleep, no one noticing a small team of Pagumon sneaked into the room, slightly letting out a malicious laughter as they took Tokomon. However, HG woke up and saw them leaving, and she quietly followed the Pagumon into the forest, hearing Tokomon cry for help.

"I want my Digi-Mommy!" Tokomon cried as he was taken away through the forest, "What did I do? Why are you picking on me?"

"Because you digivolved," a Pagumon snapped.

"You were so easy to fool. What a bunch of losers!" another mocked, sticking out his tongue while lowering an eyelid with his ear.

"What do you think you're doing?!" a voice snapped as the Pagumon turned to see some grey, long eared, cat-like Digimon standing above them.

"Gazimon!" the Pagumon gawked.

"Whoa, those are Gazimon! On the evil scale of one to ten, ten being bad, these Digimon are twelves!" Tokomon muttered as the Pagumon screamed in fear.

"Where did that Tokomon come from?" a Gazimon demanded.

"Well this Tokomon came from our village with some humans, but I-" a Pagumon began when the Gazimon gasped in response to hearing humans were around.

"There are humans here?!" one Gazimon gawked, as HG hid behind a bush, gulping out of fear of getting spotted.

She kept put until after the debating Digimon left, she looked towards a waterfall that the Pagumon were bringing Tokomon to before she followed.

The Pagumon threw Tokomon in a cage.

"You're not so special now, are ya?" the lead Pagumon scoffed.

"Yeah, you're not so special now!" the others laughed as they left, Tokomon looking to see as he got nervous red eyes behind him.

"One of us has to tell Etemon that the Digidestined humans are here," one of the Gazimon pointed out.

"I'll go. I gotta ask him for time off for a haircut anyway," one checked as he ran off.

"Huh?"

"Keep an eye on those kids or Etemon will make Digi-stew out of you!" the other Gazimon there ordered the Pagumon.

"Right!" said Pagumon nodded with an evil laughter.

The Gazimon and Pagumon took their leave, allowing HG her chance, ducking behind the waterfall.

"Tokomon?" she whispered.

"HG? Is that you?" Tokomon whimpered.

"Yes. It's me. I'm right here."

"Oh, thank goodness. You need to get me outta here! I don't know what I'd do without you! You've gotta-"

"I know. I heard the whole thing. Agumon was right that something was wrong in the village."

"What are they trying to do to me? Do you know what they're doing?"

"No. All I heard from the Gazimon is that they're getting someone called Etemon," she whispered.

"An Etemon? Oh, no! That Digimon's gonna-" Tokomon screamed in panic before-

"HEY!" a Gazimon shouted as HG gasped.

"Eep!" Tokomon panicked.

"A spy!"

"What?! No, no, no! I'm not a spy! I was just-" HG tried to protest.

"Don't let her warn the humans!" Gazimon shouted when the Digimon rushed over.

"HG! What're we gonna do?!" Tokomon shouted.

'If only Liollmon was here,' HG thought of herself as the Gazimon rushed in and they tied her up.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, TK and the others were searching for HG and Tokomon.

"Tokomon! Tokomon! HG! Where are you?" TK called out.

"Where could he and HG have gone to?" Tai wondered as he looked through his telescope.

"Tokomon, HG, if you can hear me, say something!" Biyomon called.

"HG! Tokomon!" Liollmon shouted out loud.

"Well, looks like they're not in the south part of the village," Sora sighed as Izzy crossed off places on his map in the ground.

"They're not in the village," Matt confirmed.

"Hmm, can we hurry this up? I'm scheduled for a mud pack and a facial in half an hour," Mimi sighed.

"Tokomon and HG should know better than to interrupt your beauty treatments," Gomamon muttered.

"You're so right."

"Huh? He's being sarcastic," Joe pointed out.

"What?"

"They're not by the waterfall," the Pagumon said as they came back over.

"Ok, thanks, this is bad," Izzy sighed.

"Where are they?" TK wondered, Liollmon and Agumon looking to each other in thought.

"HG," Liollmon sighed.

'Not again,' Matt thought to himself, remembering back at the cave when he was searching for TK, the tensions running high from that stressful moment, 'It can't be...'

"Tokomon! HG! Are you alright?" Agumon called out.

'Something is definitely wrong here. My nose always knows,' Agumon thought before sniffing, Liollmon noticing this.

"What's up, Agumon?" Liollmon whispered.

"I smell Koromon," the dino stated, "You wait here, I'll check it out."

Agumon then followed his nose, turning towards the waterfall, "It's coming from behind the waterfall!"

He rushed up there and saw an opening behind the waterfall, finding a cage, with something that surprised him.

"What?" he gasped, seeing Tokomon and HG.

"Agumon!" Tokomon called out.

"In here! Hurry!" HG responded, getting the dino closer.

"HG! Tokomon!" he gasped, rushing in before noticing even more cages behind them, each of them filled with Koromon, "Koromon. Boy, you guys gotta get a better apartment, maybe someplace with a few more bedrooms."

"The Pagumon came and locked us in these cages," a Koromon whimpered.

"About three days ago, they came and took over our whole village," another Koromon explained.

"Then we were really right after all," Agumon figured.

"I appreciate talking as much as the next guy, but if you untie us, we could go warn the others," Tokomon pointed out.

"And hurry. Etemon is coming," HG whispered.

"You can count on me, you guys! I'll have you out in just a minute," Agumon assured.

"I really don't think so!" a voice said as they looked to see the Gazimon show up.

"Wha~? But you're Gazimon."

"Exactly right, and we are going to be giving those humans of yours to King Etemon."

"No you're not. Not quite."

"Why don't we teach the little lizard a lesson?"

The Gazimon jumped and scratched Agumon over and over again, repeatedly getting him down as Tokomon and HG panicked.

"Agumon!" the caged duo panicked as Agumon struggled to his feet.

-Meanwhile-

"Tokomon's really very small. He can't have gone too far," Izzy muttered.

"Agumon's been gone a long time. I wonder if he's found anything," Tai wondered.

-Back at the waterfall-

Agumon stood up, trying to stay up.

"ELECTRIC STUN BLAST!" the Gazimon shouted, hitting Agumon with electrified claws.

"Two against one isn't fair!" the Koromon protested.

"Get up, Agumon!" Tokomon pleaded.

"Tai, please help me digivolve!" Agumon shouted.

"Go ahead, yell if you want, he can't hear," the Gazimon smirked.

"If only it weren't for this waterfall," Agumon groaned.

With that, looking to the waterfall, HG got an idea.

"Agumon! Launch a Pepper Breath toward the Gazimon's direction!" she shouted.

Agumon looked confused, but fired off some shots, HG urging him to repeat the process, which he does. The Gazimon dodged the shots that came, but the fire hit the water behind them.

"What are you trying to do, you dolt?" Gazimon shouted.

"PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon repeated, still firing the blasts, at this point not even aiming at the Gazimon and more focused on hitting the waterfall... causing smoke to come rising from the other side of the waterfall.

"Huh? That's weird," Tai muttered, seeing the smoke.

"What do you see, Tai?" Matt asked.

"Smoke, coming from the river."

"It's Tokomon and HG!" TK figured.

"No, really, it's nothing. We looked by the river and didn't see a thing," the Pagumon panicked in denial.

"Didn't see a thing!" another added.

"Well it is possible that Tokomon and HG arrived after you Pagumon searched the area," Izzy figured as the group stood up to go check.

"Hey, I'll check it out," Tai offered.

"No! Don't do that!" the Pagumon panicked again.

"Hey, so what's the problem? We're just going to look around," Sora asked, confused.

"Just take our word for it."

"Hey guys!" Liollmon interrupted, rushing over, "Agumon went to the waterfall to check things out. He told me to wait, but he hasn't come back in a while."

"Why would he do that?" Gomamon wondered when suddenly, Mimi screamed.

The kids and the Digimon all turned to look.

"Ew! Ew! Ew!" Mimi panicked, grossed out as on the bench she was sitting on was a yellow eyed, black little digimon that hopped into and sat in her lap, "What is this thing?"

"That's a Botamon," Tentomon answered.

"Why would there be a Botamon here?" Palmon wondered.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"Botamon is the small egg form that Digivolves into Koromon and then into Agumon," Gabumon explained.

"Then the Pagumon lied to us!" Tai realized, glaring at the Pagumon who began to sing and dance.

"It's time for us to leave here, we really hate to go. We told you this was our place, now you know it isn't so! Pagumon is our name, we're clever and we're bright. You didn't tell us so because we'd rather run than fight!" the Pagumon sang as they danced away.

"There they go," Sora sighed.

"Never trust anything without feet!" Tai scoffed.

"Depends on the creature, remember our Digimon didn't all have feet when we met them," Matt pointed out.

Agumon was knocked down, looking very beat up.

"Ah, stop it!" Tokomon pleaded.

"Get ready, lizard!" Gazimon smirked.

"Here's a present for ya!" another shouted as they prepared their attacks.

"Tai, where are you?!" Agumon grunted.

"Agumon!" Tai shouted.

"HG!" Liollmon hollered as he rushed in with Tai.

"Tai! Help me!" Agumon pleaded.

"Liollmon, we're in here!" HG called out.

"Hold on, Agumon!" Tai shouted back, getting the attention of the Gazimon, "Agumon, are you alright?"

"Now I am," Agumon smiled.

"So, you're one of the Digidestined," one of the Gazimon realized.

"Digivolving time, Agumon get up!" Tai shouted.

"You've got it!" Agumon nodded as he glowed, "Agumon, Digivolve to... Greymon!"

Greymon emerged and split the falls with some rocks, reaching his full height.

"So, you like to fight two against one, eh?" Greymon smirked at the two Gazimon, "NOVA BLAST!"

He fired the shot, sending them flying into the water.

"Greymon did it!" Tai cheered.

TK and the others ran into the cave next to see Tokomon, HG and the Koromon in the cave, the kids quickly breaking the locks on all the cages.

"Tokomon, I thought I lost you again," TK smiled, hugging his partner.

"I'm like a boomerang. I keep coming back!" Tokomon laughed as he nuzzled TK.

At the same time, Liollmon and Matt untied HG from the rope she was stuck in.

"HG! You're alive!" Liollmon smiled as he laughed, nuzzling her.

"We thought we lost you, HG!" Matt responded.

"Thank goodness you guys found me and Tokomon," she smiled, hugging them both.

"The Pagumon are gone, you can all return to your village now," Sora assured.

"Thank you!" the Koromon smiled and cheered when suddenly, a sound like a microphone coming too close to a set of speakers rang out, making them flinch, followed by a deep voice with a southern accent that almost sounded like an Elvis impersonator.

"Uh, hello." the voice echoed as they saw a giant digimon standing over the treetops, revealing some kind of orange monkey with sunglasses, a guitar, and a hairdo that indeed looked like Elvis' iconic pompadour.

"Oh, great, a digi-rock star," Joe groaned.

"You measly little Digidestined humans, thank you very much, hello!" Etemon scoffed.

"It's Etemon! Oh no!" a Koromon panicked.

"There is nothing entertaining about Etemon. He has the power to control anything electronic through his Dark Network," Tentomon noted.

"I think we found our new enemy," HG figured.

"You little, bratty kids messed up all my big, beautiful plans! So now I'm gonna hafta punish y'all by playing a little number that I just wrote. It's called 'Wreckin' The Whole Place!'" Etemon responded.

"'Wrecking The Whole Place'?" Tai wondered.

"Do you think he can actually do that?" Izzy asked.

"DARK NETWORK: CONCERT CRUSH!" Etemon shouted as black lines lifted into the air from underground, the monkey laughing maniacally as the line floated, red and black bolts started streaking down, blowing up anything they hit.

"Everyone, Digivolve, now!" Sora ordered.

"Let's go!" Tai and Matt shouted.

"Gabumon, Digivolve to... Garurumon!"

"Well, ya say ya want a Digivolution. Guess what. The answer's noooo!" Etemon sang as he strummed his guitar and sang the final word, "DARK NETWORK: CONCERT CRUSH! Ahuhuh! Ahuhuh!"

Etemon laughed loudly as the echoing music forced Greymon and Garurumon into their rookie forms.

"DARK NETWORK! Yeah, darlin'! Gotcha!" Etemon sang.

"Something strange is going on!" Tai realized as more bolts of black and red electricity shot all around the forest.

"Concert Crush took our power," Agumon realized.

"Does Rock and Roll have that effect in your world?" Tentomon asked.

"Only on our parents," Sora noted.

"This is a disgrace to Rock!" HG shouted as Etemon continued to sing loudly and off-key.

"So there's no way for us to fight this monster?" Izzy asked.

"As we are, no. If only we could Digivolve a step further," Tentomon sighed.

"A step further?" Matt asked.

"That must be what Gennai was referring to when he told us about finding the Crests and the Tags!" Sora realized.

"I think it's just a little late for that now, Sora," Joe pointed out as they ran into the waterfall, the noise causing a cave-in, Etemon letting off a maniacal laughing.

Inside the cave, the Digimon and the kids ran deeper, only to come across a dead end, the wall in front of them having a giant glyphic sun, carved into the stone with eight points, one for each direction, north, south, east and west, then another four for the points in between.

"What's this?" Tai wondered.

"This is a safe place where we hide when anything bad happens to our village," the Koromon explained.

"What do we do now?" Tai wondered as his tag began to glow underneath his shirt, the walls of the cave began to glow a bright orange as all the kids gasped.

Tai then pulled his Tag from inside his shirt to see that the wall with the glyphic sun began to shrink, opening up another way out of the cave as the sun symbol shrunk to fit in the palm of Tai's hand.

"I think I know what this is," Tai realized as the symbol began hovering in front of him.

"Okay, what?" Matt asked.

"A Crest!" Tai smiled as the symbol slid itself into the Tag around Tai's neck, confirming to everyone it was a Crest.

"A Crest?" Sora asked.

"Oh, my gosh..." HG gawked.

"Exactly! Now we've got a Crest!" Tai smiled.

"How awesome!" Matt added.

"Look!" Sora shouted as the space before them stopped glowing, returning to regular stone with a view of another forest, currently undamaged by Etemon's Concert Crush, and large mountains.

"Didn't this used to be a wall?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, but the Crest must have brought us here. These mountains are a long way from our village," a Koromon realized.

"Alright! Frequent Flier miles."

"This place is the bomb," Matt smirked.

"It's beautiful," Mimi beamed.

"I can't believe Tai found his Crest already," HG noted.

"With this Crest, we can do anything we want!" Tai smirked, staring at the crest before he looked up, out into the forest, "You know, guys, I think this is the first step on our trip home!"

Unbeknownst to them, there was still a black wire with red electricity zipping through it.

**_Everyone, this is important. I can’t get a hold of the people who help me write this story. I’m not a solo writer. If anyone has a DeviantArt, Fanfiction, or Wattpad page, contact me. DeviantArt: Waterdragon1654. Fanfiction.net: WaterBendingQueen88. Wattpad: Waterdragon88._ **


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